610 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
4. Which of the following expresses the number
that is 12 less than the product of 3 and x + 1?
(A) x − 8
(B) x + 37
(C) 3x − 11
(D) 3x − 9
(E) 3x + 15
5. One bag of grass seed covers 5,000 square feet.
If each bag costs $25, how much will it cost to
buy enough grass seed to cover a square area
that is 200 feet by 200 feet?
(A) $25
(B) $100
(C) $200
(D) $1,000
(E) $2,000
Note: Figure not drawn to scale.
6. In the right triangle above, what is the value
of w?
(A) 30
(B) 60
(C) 90
(D) 120
(E) 150
x°
y°
x°
y°
w°
7 7 777 7

GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
7. Three integers have a sum of 7 and a product
of 0. If the difference of the greatest number
and the least number is 11, then the least of
these numbers is
(A) −18
(B) −11
(C) −9
(D) −2
(E) 0
8. Four points lie on a circle. How many different
triangles can be drawn with three of these
points as vertices?
(A) 4
(B) 5
(C) 6
(D) 7
(E) 8
9. If a, b, and c are consecutive positive integers
such that a < b < c and abc is NOT a multiple
of 4, then which of the following must be true?
(A) a is even
(B) b is even
(C) c is even
(D) a + b + c is odd
(E) abc is odd
CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST I 611
7 7 777 7
Questions 10–12 refer to the following graph.
10. For which class was the change in percent par-

ticipation the greatest from 2002 to 2003?
(A) A (B) B (C) C
(D) D (E) E
11. If class B and class E each had 100 students in
2002 and 2003, then, in total, how many more
students participated in the fund-raiser from
class E than from class B over the 2 years?
(A) 10 (B) 20 (C) 30
(D) 40 (E) 60
12. In 2002, the same number of students partici-
pated in the fund-raiser from class C as from
class D. If class D contained 120 students in
2002, how many students were there in class C
in 2002?
(A) 90 (B) 100 (C) 120
(D) 140 (E) 160
A
C
B
D
E
20 40 60 80 1000
0
20
40
80
60
100
PARTICIPATION IN FUND-RAISER
FOR 5 CLASSES

Percent participation in 2002
Percent participation in 2003
13. If x =−1 is a solution of the equation x
2
= 4x + c
where c is a constant, what is another value
of x that satisfies the equation?
(A) −5 (B) −2 (C) 1
(D) 2 (E) 5
1, 2, 6, 7, 9
14. A three-digit integer is to be formed from the
digits listed above. If the first digit must be
odd, either the second or the third digit must
be 2, and no digit may be repeated, how many
such integers are possible?
(A) 6 (B) 9 (C) 18
(D) 24 (E) 30
15. If one pound of grain can feed five chickens or
two pigs, then ten pounds of grain can feed 20
chickens and how many pigs?
(A) 8 (B) 10 (C) 12
(D) 24 (E) 40
16. Point C is the center of the circle on the figure
above. The shaded region has an area of 3π
square centimeters. What is the perimeter of
the shaded region in centimeters?
(A) 2π+6
(B) 2π+9
(C) 2π+12
(D) 3π+6

(E) 3π+12
120°
C
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may
check your work on this section only. Do not
turn to any other section of the test.
612 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
8 8 888 8
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
1. The studio’s most recent movies reflect a of
many different artistic visions rather than the
of a single director.
(A) conglomeration . . insubordination
(B) prudence . . unity
(C) bastion . . despair
(D) synthesis . . dominance
(E) conspiracy . . retreat
2. Rather than endeavoring to write timeless fiction
with lasting value, many novelists cater to
the tastes of those modern readers who
read a book once and then discard it.
(A) immoral
(B) fleeting
(C) valuable
(D) solid
(E) intellectual
3. Although many investors may tolerate short-
term declines in the value of their securities,
few will accept a downturn in the stock

market.
(A) protracted
(B) contemporaneous
(C) transient
(D) surreptitious
(E) fickle
4. In most modern societies, athletes are in
the same way that successful warriors were
celebrated by civilizations in years past.
(A) invoked
(B) repudiated
(C) lionized
(D) vilified
(E) beguiled
SECTION 8
Time—20 minutes
19 questions
Turn to Section 8 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given and
fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.
Each sentence below has one or two blanks,
each blank indicating that something has been
omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words
or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose
the word or set of words that, when inserted
in the sentence, best
fits the meaning of the
sentence as a whole.
EXAMPLE:
Rather than accepting the theory unquestion-

ingly, Deborah regarded it with

.
(A) mirth
(B) sadness
(C) responsibility
(D) ignorance
(E) skepticism
A
C D
B
CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST I 613
5. Dobson’s overconfident and arrogant manner
during press conferences was beginning to ir-
ritate his associates; there was no need to be
about the success of an endeavor that
had yet to be launched.
(A) superficial
(B) capricious
(C) pious
(D) deferential
(E) supercilious
6. Although few literary critics approved of her
criticism of the society in which she
lived, Virginia Woolf remained a oppo-
nent of the male hegemony that hindered
women’s pursuit of professional and artistic
success.
(A) matriarchal . . pugnacious
(B) patriarchal . . vociferous

(C) avuncular . . belligerent
(D) prejudiced . . rudimentary
(E) liberal . . negligent
8 8 888 8
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man who devotes the fiery days of his youth to
learning to spell has time to be a genius.
Serena says, and I agree with her, that it is
the jealousy of a few college professors who
are trying to undermine the younger writers.
They know that it is excusable to spell incor-
rectly now, but they want this new phonetic
spelling brought into use so that there shall be
no excuse for bad spelling, and that then, Ser-
ena says, self-made authors like me, who
never can spell but who simply blaze with ge-
nius, will be hooted out of the magazines to
make room for a stupid sort of literature that
is spelled correctly. Serena looks upon the
whole thing as a direct, personal stab at me. I
look at it more philosophically.
To me it seems that the spelling reformers
are entirely on the wrong track. Their pro-
posed changes are almost a revolution, and
we Americans do not like sudden changes. We
like our revolutions to come about gradually.
Think how gradually automobiles have come
to pass. If, in our horse age, the streets had
suddenly been covered with sixty horsepower
snorters going thirty miles an hour and

smelling like an eighteenth-century literary
debate, and killing people right and left, we
Americans would have arisen and destroyed
every vestige of the automobile. But the auto-
mobile came gradually—first the bicycle, then
the motorcycle, and so, by stages, to the pre-
sent monsters. So slowly and progressively
did the automobile increase in size and num-
ber that it seemed a matter of course. We take
to being killed by the automobile quite natu-
rally now.
Of course, the silent letters in our words
are objectionable. They are lazy letters. We
want no idle class in America, whether tramp,
aristocrat, or silent letter, but we do not kill
the tramp and the aristocrat. We set them to
work, or we would like to. My theory of
spelling reform is to set the idle letters to
work.
Take that prime offender, although. Altho
does all the work, and ugh sits on the fence
and whittles. I would put ugh to work. Ugh is
a syllable in itself. I would have the ugh follow
The passages below are followed by questions
based on their content. Answer the questions
on the basis of what is stated
or implied in the
passage and in any introductory material that
may be provided.
Questions 7–19 are based on the following passage.

The following are two essays on the American
English spelling reform movement. Passage 1
was written in 1906 by the humorist Ellis Parker
Butler. Passage 2 was written by a modern
American writer in 2003.
PASSAGE 1
My own opinion of the spelling profession is
that it has nothing to do with genius, except to
kill it. I know that Shakespeare was a promis-
cuous sort of speller, even as to his own name,
and no one can deny that he was a greater ge-
nius than Noah Webster. The reason America
so long lagged behind Europe in the produc-
tion of genius is that America, for many
decades, was the slave of the spelling-book. No
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
Line
5
614 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
8 8 888 8
the pronounced altho as a third syllable.

Doubtless the asthmatic islanders who con-
cocted our English language actually pro-
nounced it so.
I propose to have some millionaire endow
my plan, and Serena and I will then form a so-
ciety for the reforming of English pronuncia-
tion. I will not punch out the i of any chief,
nor shall any one drag me from any pro-
gramme, however dull. I will pronounce
programme as it should be pronounced—
programmy—and, as for chief, he shall be
pronounced chy-ef.
The advantage of this plan is manifest. It is
so manifest that I am afraid it will never be
adopted.
Serena’s plan is, perhaps, less intellectual,
but more American. Serena’s plan is to ignore
all words that contain superfluous letters. She
would simply boycott them. Serena would
have people get along with such words as are
already phonetically spelled. Why should peo-
ple write although, when they can write
notwithstanding that, and not have a silent let-
ter in it? I have myself often written a phrase
twelve words long to stand instead of a single
word I did not know how to spell. In fact, I
abandoned my Platonic friendship for Serena,
and replaced it with ardent love, because I did
know how to spell sweetheart, but could not
remember whether she was my friend or

freind.
PASSAGE 2
For centuries, thinkers as notable as Ben-
jamin Franklin have registered the same com-
plaint about English spelling: it is needlessly
complicated and inconsistent in pronuncia-
tion. Silent letters abound, and ough is pro-
nounced six different ways in the words
tough, bough, through, bought, although, and
cough. Franklin wanted to change the alpha-
bet and institute new spelling rules to make
English more sensible, more usable, and eas-
ier to learn. Such good ideas have been
around a long time, and we should put them
to rest for three good reasons.
First, English, like most languages, has
dialects. In Boston, Korea and career are
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE
60
65
70
75
80
85
homophones. In San Francisco, they are not.
To spell them the same way would be to im-
pose a “preferred” dialect on all Americans,
forcing us all to talk like South Enders and vi-
olating our precious value of democracy over
elitism. Failure to do so would result in chaos.

Would a novelist from Alabama who was edu-
cated at Brown write in her native drawl, her
adopted New England dialect, or the homoge-
nized English of the educated elite? In a de-
mocratic society, isn’t one of the great benefits
of a language-wide spelling system that it ob-
scures those spoken dialects that are so often
used to stratify and separate us?
Second, languages evolve, adopting words
from other languages, coining new ones, and
changing pronunciations over time. The silent
letters in the word eight, a bane of the “ratio-
nal” speller, are the echoes of the German
acht, the Latin octo, the Greek okto and even
(faintly) the Sanskrit asta. The spelling may be
vexing to some, but it is a historical treasure
trove to others. Furthermore, this example
shows the folly of trying to standardize
spelling by linking it with pronunciation. The
words won’t stand still.
Third, languages are not influenced very
much by plan or reason; they develop by
evolving conventions of usage. They are cul-
tural artifacts, not legislated standards.
Spelling is like football: there may be lots of
silly and illogical things in it, but that doesn’t
mean you have a snowball’s chance in hell of
replacing the rules.
90
95

100
105
110
115
120
125
130
135
CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST I 615
7. In the first paragraph of Passage 1, Noah
Webster is mentioned as an example of
(A) a genius who was a poor speller
(B) one of the first spelling reformers
(C) a man devoted to proper spelling
(D) a famous playwright
(E) one who shares the author’s opinion
8. Serena regards phonetic spelling as a “per-
sonal stab” (line 24) at the author of Passage 1
because its proponents
(A) have a history of vindictiveness
(B) do not like hard work
(C) are well educated
(D) are wealthy
(E) want to eliminate the author’s excuse for
poor spelling
9. The success of “Serena’s plan” (line 74) de-
pends on the ability of people to
(A) change their habits of pronunciation
(B) spell correctly
(C) perfect their handwriting skills

(D) learn an entirely new alphabet
(E) change their writing habits
10. By saying that Serena’s plan is “more American”
(line 75), the author of Passage 1 implies that
Americans
(A) are good spellers
(B) regard writers with disdain
(C) are inclined to protest
(D) do not read enough
(E) can’t take a joke
8 8 888 8
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11. In Passage 1, the author’s theory of spelling
reform differs from that of Serena in that the
author
(A) wants to alter the pronunciation of
words that Serena wants to ignore
(B) regards Shakespeare as a genius but
Serena does not
(C) wants to change the alphabet but
Serena does not
(D) seeks to simplify spelling, while
Serena does not
(E) understands how to alter American
habits but Serena does not
12. The author of Passage 1 claims to have fallen
in love with Serena because
(A) his spelling skills were weak
(B) they agreed on a plan for phonetic
spelling

(C) she helped him to understand
philosophy
(D) they shared a distaste for automobiles
(E) they were both writers
13. The “chaos” mentioned in line 110 refers to
(A) the difficulty of spelling words with
silent letters
(B) the challenge of getting scholars to agree
(C) the many ways of pronouncing ough
(D) the possibility of many sets of spelling
rules for different dialects
(E) the disagreement among linguists
regarding spelling reform
616 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
8 8 888 8
14. According to Passage 2, “one of the great ben-
efits of a language-wide spelling system” (lines
115–116) is that it
(A) simplifies commonly misspelled words
(B) discourages social distinctions implied
by pronunciation
(C) eliminates silent letters
(D) makes it easier to translate words from
English to other languages
(E) imposes a preferred dialect
15. Passage 2 mentions the word “eight” (line 122)
as an example of
(A) a word with a spelling that is edifying to
some
(B) a commonly mispronounced word

(C) a word with a spelling that the author
believes should be simplified
(D) a recently coined term
(E) a word that has remained unchanged for
centuries
16. The tone of the two passages differs in that
Passage 1 is
(A) jocular, whereas Passage 2 is logical
(B) cynical, whereas Passage 2 is whimsical
(C) analytical, whereas Passage 2 is
lighthearted
(D) scientific, whereas Passage 2 is satirical
(E) strident, whereas Passage 2 is reflective
17. With which of the following statements would
the authors of both passages most likely agree?
(A) The rules of English spelling need to be
changed.
(B) Modern conventions of grammar are il-
logical.
(C) Americans are lazy.
(D) Conventions of language are not easily
changed.
(E) Writers should read widely to perfect
their craft.
18. If the author of Passage 1 were serious about
his plan for reforming English pronunciation,
the author of Passage 2 would likely regard
that plan as
(A) a necessary addition to phonetic spelling
(B) a logical alternative to the current

system
(C) inferior to the plan for phonetic spelling
(D) unworkable because it disregards the
way that conventions of language
develop
(E) a more plausible plan than Serena’s
19. In both passages, the word “although” is
regarded as
(A) a word that is commonly
mispronounced
(B) a word that is difficult to spell
(C) an example of an idiosyncracy of English
that some consider problematic
(D) a word that reveals much about the de-
velopment of the English language
(E) a word that can easily be eliminated
from the English language
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may
check your work on this section only. Do not
turn to any other section of the test.
CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST I 617
1. The chef’s assistant cut the vegetables and laid
them on the table, he then started to prepare
the meat.
(A) The chef’s assistant cut the vegetables
and laid them on the table, he
(B) The vegetables were cut and laid on the
table by the chef’s assistant when he
(C) After cutting the vegetables and laying

them on the table, the chef’s assistant
(D) The chef’s assistant, having cut the veg-
etables and laying them on the table,
(E) Laying on the table, the chef’s assistant
who cut the vegetables
2. Practicing their rebuttals ahead of time helps
the forensics team members to become a bet-
ter debater.
(A) helps the forensics team member to be-
come a better debater
(B) helps forensic team members to become
better debaters
(C) helping the forensics team members to
become better debaters
(D) is helpful to the forensics team members
who become better debaters
(E) the forensics team member becomes a
better debater
9 9 999 9
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SECTION 9
Time—10 minutes
14 questions
Turn to Section 9 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section.
Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given and
fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.
The following sentences test correctness and
effectiveness of expression. Part of each sen-
tence or the entire sentence is underlined;
beneath each sentence are five ways of phras-

ing the underlined material. Choice A repeats
the original phrasing; the other four choices
are different. Select the choice that completes
the sentence most effectively.
In making your selection, follow the require-
ments of standard written English; that is, pay
attention to grammar, choice of words, sentence
construction, and punctuation. Your selection
should result in the most effective sentence—
clear and precise, without awkwardness or
ambiguity.
EXAMPLE:
The children couldn’t hardly believe their eyes
.
(A) couldn’t hardly believe their eyes
(B) could hardly believe their eyes
(C) would not hardly believe their eyes
(D) couldn’t nearly believe their eyes
(E) couldn’t hardly believe his or her eyes
A
C D
E
B
618 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
3. Billy the Bobcat, like other children’s stories,
have elements that can only be fully appreci-
ated by adults.
(A) like other children’s stories have
(B) like other children’s stories, has
(C) a children’s story, like others, has

(D) is like other stories for children in that
they have
(E) like that of other children’s stories, has also
4. Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand scientist
when measuring the charge and mass of alpha
particles, discovered that they are virtually
identical to the nuclei of helium atoms.
(A) a New Zealand scientist when measuring
the charge and mass of alpha particles
(B) a New Zealand scientist who measured
the charge and mass of alpha particles
(C) a New Zealand scientist which measured
the charge and mass of alpha particles
(D) measuring the charge and mass of alpha
particles, was a scientist when he
(E) being the one who measured the mass and
charge of alpha particles as a scientist
5. Oxytocin is the hormone that triggers uterine
contractions during labor, as well as
the pre-
liminary contractions known as Braxton Hicks.
(A) labor, as well as
(B) labor, as well as being the hormone that
triggers
(C) labor, causing as well
(D) labor; and also causes
(E) labor; also causing
6. During the Clinton presidency, the U.S. enjoyed
more than any time in its history peace and
economic well being.

(A) the U.S. enjoyed more than any time in its
history peace and economic well being
(B) the U.S. enjoying more than any other time
in its history peace and economic well being
(C) more peace and economic well being was
enjoyed by the U.S. than any other time
(D) economic peace and well being was en-
joyed by the U.S. more so than any other
time in the country’s history
(E) the U.S. enjoyed more peace and eco-
nomic well being than at any other time
in its history
9 9 999 9
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7. The final three months of the year tend to be
profitable for technology companies because
of increased consumer demand being around
the holidays.
(A) because of increased consumer demand
being around the holidays
(B) because of increasing consumer demand
occurs around the holidays
(C) an increased consumer demand around
the holidays makes it so
(D) because consumer demand increases
around the holidays
(E) because the increased consumer demand
is what occurs around the holidays
8. As his moviemaking career began to wane, Jerry
Lewis remained in the public eye by hosting a va-

riety show and on an annual telethon with bene
-
fits for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
(A) on an annual telethon with benefits for
the Muscular Dystrophy Association
(B) an annual telethon with benefits to the
Muscular Dystrophy Association
(C) benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy
Association with his annual telethon
(D) an annual telethon benefiting the
Muscular Dystrophy Association
(E) the Muscular Dystrophy Association
with an annual telethon
9. The development of bebop is attributed in large
part to Dizzy Gillespie and also saxophonist
Charlie Parker; and their unique styles
helped to
contribute to and typified the bebop sound.
(A) and their unique styles helped to con-
tribute to and typified the bebop sound
(B) their unique styles contributed to and
typified the bebop sound
(C) it was their unique styles that contributed
to and were typifying the bebop sound
(D) but their unique styles helped contribute
to the typical bebop sound
(E) the bebop sound was helped by the contri-
butions of their unique styles and typified it
CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST I 619
10. Many critics believe that video games are harm-

ful to children that contain violent imagery.
(A) are harmful to children that contain vio-
lent imagery
(B) containing violent imagery are harmful
to children
(C) that contain violent imagery that harms
children
(D) containing violent imagery that are
harmful to children
(E) harmful to children containing violent
imagery
11. Walking hand-in-hand along the boardwalk,
a vendor stopped the couple to try to sell them
lemonade.
(A) a vendor stopped the couple to try to sell
them lemonade
(B) the couple was stopped by a vendor who
tried to sell them lemonade
(C) trying to sell them lemonade, a vendor
stopped the couple
(D) a vendor stopped the couple to try and
sell them lemonade
(E) the couple having been stopped by the
vendor who tried to sell them lemonade
12. Professor Peterson had just stepped into the
classroom and that was when he discovered
that several lab manuals were missing.
(A) and that was when he found out
(B) and then he discovered
(C) when he discovered

(D) after which he discovered
(E) discovering soon thereafter
9 9 999 9
13. Parents today spend more time working than
30 years ago.
(A) than
(B) than have
(C) than of the parents of
(D) than did parents
(E) than of the parents
14. The anthropologists would have considered
their research a success if they would have
found a language that shares lexical elements
with the Borneans they were studying.
(A) if they would have found a language that
shares lexical elements with the
Borneans they were studying
(B) had they found a language that shares
lexical elements with that of the
Borneans they were studying
(C) if they found a language that shares lexi-
cal elements with the Borneans they
were studying
(D) if they had found a language that shares
lexical elements with the Borneans they
were studying
(E) if they would have found a language that
shares lexical elements with that of the
Borneans they were studying
STOP

If you finish before time is called, you may
check your work on this section only. Do not
turn to any other section of the test.