Sample Questions
hobby and so may not excel at anything.
1. Because King Philip’s desire to make Spain the
dominant power in sixteenth-century Europe ran
counter to Queen Elizabeth’s insistence on
autonomy for England, ------- was -------.
(A) reconciliation . . assured
(B) warfare . . avoidable
(C) ruination . . impossible
(D) conflict . . inevitable
(E) diplomacy . . simple
Be sure to look for key words and phrases as you read each
sentence. Words such as although, however, if, but, and since
are important to notice because they signal how the differ-
ent parts of a sentence are logically related to each other.
Words such as not and never are important because they
indicate negation. In the example above, the entire sentence
hinges on a few key words: “Because something ran counter
to something else, blank was blank.”
● The word “because” indicates that the information
in the first part of the sentence (the part before
the comma) explains the reason for the situation
described in the second part. The first part states
that what King Philip wanted (domination for
Spain) “ran counter to” what Queen Elizabeth
wanted (independence for England).
● Given that there was such a fundamental disagree-
ment between the two monarchs, would reconcilia-
tion be assured? Unlikely.
● Would warfare be avoidable? Hardly; warfare
might be unavoidable.
● Would ruination be impossible? No.
● Would diplomacy be simple? Not necessarily.
● Only choice (D) fits logically with the key words in
the sentence: Because what one person wanted ran
counter to what another person wanted, conflict
was inevitable.
Correct answer: (D) / Difficulty level: Medium
2. There is no doubt that Larry is a genuine -------:
he excels at telling stories that fascinate his
listeners.
(A) braggart (B) dilettante (C) pilferer
(D) prevaricator (E) raconteur
Some sentence completions contain a colon. This is a
signal that the words after the colon define or directly
clarify what came before. In this case, “he excels at telling
stories that fascinate his listeners” serves to define the word
raconteur, choice (E). None of the other words is directly
defined by this clause.
● A braggart may or may not excel at telling stories
and may actually annoy listeners.
6 SAT Preparation Booklet
● A dilettante is someone who dabbles at a career or
● A pilferer steals repeatedly, in small quantities; this
has nothing to do with storytelling.
● A prevaricator tells lies, but not necessarily in an
accomplished or fascinating way; and the sentence
refers to stories, not lies.
You should choose the word that best fits the meaning of
the sentence as a whole, and only choice (E) does so.
Correct answer: (E) / Difficulty level: Hard
Passage-Based Reading
The reading questions on the SAT measure your ability to
read and think carefully about several different passages
ranging in length from about 100 to about 850 words.
Passages are taken from a variety of fields, including the
humanities, social studies, natural sciences, and literary
fiction. They vary in style and can include narrative, argu-
mentative, and expository elements. Some selections con-
sist of a pair of related passages on a shared issue or theme;
in some of the questions, you are asked to compare and
contrast these passages.
The following kinds of questions may be asked about a
passage:
● Vocabulary in Context: These questions ask you to
determine the meanings of words from their con-
text in the reading passage.
● Literal Comprehension: These questions assess
your understanding of significant information
directly stated in the passage.
● Extended Reasoning: These questions measure
your ability to synthesize and analyze information
as well as to evaluate the assumptions made and
the techniques used by the author. Most of the
reading questions fall into this category. You may
be asked to identify cause and effect, make infer-
ences, recognize a main idea or an author’s tone,
and follow the logic of an analogy or an argument.
Answering Passage-Based Reading
Questions
Below are samples of the kinds of reading passages and
questions that may appear on your test. For each set of
sample materials,
● read the passage carefully.
● decide on the best answer to each question.
● read the explanation for the correct answer.