Copy of Copy of SAT ELA Exam 9 (Full Module 1)

Coastal communities have long used oyster reefs as natural barriers against strong waves. Recently, some engineers have begun restoring damaged reefs instead of building concrete seawalls. This approach can be highly _________________ because the reefs not only reduce wave energy but also provide habitats for fish and other marine life.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

When the first subway systems were built, many stations relied on paper maps and signs to guide passengers. Today, digital displays can update riders instantly about delays, route changes, and arrival times. These displays are useful because _________________ outdated information can cause passengers to miss connections or board the wrong train.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Some historians once claimed that ancient cities developed only near rivers because rivers provided water, transportation, and fertile soil. However, newer research has shown that some major cities also developed in dry inland regions. This evidence should not cause scholars to _________________ the older explanation completely, but it does suggest that rivers were not the only factor in urban growth.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams was not merely a performer in the development of modern jazz. She arranged music for major bands, mentored younger musicians, and helped shape the sound of bebop. Her influence was therefore blank to the growth of the genre.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

The following text is adapted from an original description of a mountain landscape.

By late afternoon, the valley had grown dim, but the highest ridge still held the sun. Its rocky edge stood clear against the pale sky, while the fields below had already begun to fade into shadow.

As used in the text, what does the word clear most nearly mean?

Researchers studying ancient pottery often use residue analysis, a method for identifying tiny traces of materials left on an object. By testing these traces, scientists can sometimes determine whether a pot once held oil, grain, wine, or another substance.

Which choice best describes the function of the phrase a method for identifying tiny traces of materials left on an object in the text as a whole?

In the early 1900s, many farmers in the Great Plains removed deep-rooted native grasses to plant wheat. During years of drought, the exposed soil dried out and was easily carried away by strong winds. After severe dust storms damaged farms and towns, conservation programs encouraged farmers to plant grasses and trees that helped hold soil in place.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

A team of marine biologists studied cleaner fish, small fish that remove parasites from larger fish. The researchers observed that some cleaner fish seemed to recognize individual clients and adjusted their behavior depending on whether a client had visited before. The team hopes that further study will reveal more about how memory works in social animals.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Located in Iceland, the Hellisheidi geothermal power plant generates electricity by using heat from deep below Earth’s surface. Wells bring hot water and steam upward, and that steam spins turbines connected to generators. Afterward, much of the cooled water is pumped back underground, where it can be heated again naturally.

Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?

Alma Thomas began her career as an art teacher, but she later became widely known for her colorful abstract paintings. Her works often used repeated blocks of bright color to suggest flowers, sunlight, and space. In 1972, she became the first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, helping bring greater attention to abstract artists who had often been overlooked.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

City planners who once treated wetlands as empty land now increasingly preserve them as part of stormwater systems. By absorbing runoff and filtering pollutants before water reaches rivers, wetlands provide benefits that are not merely scenic but _________________.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A literary critic argues that the novel should not be read simply as a rejection of ambition. Instead, the critic suggests that the novel qualifies that idea by showing that ambition becomes dangerous mainly when it is separated from responsibility and concern for others.

As used in the text, what does the word qualifies most nearly mean?

Some readers interpret Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a warning against scientific discovery itself. However, other scholars argue that the novel’s target is narrower: it criticizes Victor Frankenstein not because he seeks knowledge, but because he refuses to take responsibility for what he creates. In this view, the novel does not condemn learning; it condemns ambition without moral accountability.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Many flowering plants produce nectar to attract pollinators. A team of researchers suspected that some flowers may also use tiny electrical signals left by previous visitors. Because bees carry a slight positive charge, a bee that lands on a flower can temporarily change the flower’s electrical field. The researchers claimed that later bees can detect those changes and use them to avoid flowers whose nectar has already been depleted.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support the researchers’ claim?

Botanists tested three rice varieties to determine how well each tolerated salty soil. They measured each variety’s germination rate and average seedling height in normal soil and in salty soil.

Rice Variety Data

Arun
Germination in normal soil: 92%
Germination in salty soil: 54%
Average height in normal soil: 28 cm
Average height in salty soil: 12 cm

Bela
Germination in normal soil: 88%
Germination in salty soil: 61%
Average height in normal soil: 25 cm
Average height in salty soil: 16 cm

Caro
Germination in normal soil: 85%
Germination in salty soil: 76%
Average height in normal soil: 22 cm
Average height in salty soil: 19 cm

The botanists concluded that Caro was the most salt-tolerant of the three rice varieties.

Which choice best uses data from the table to support the botanists’ conclusion?

Published after years of archival research, _________________ newly discovered letters, newspaper articles, and lecture notes to reassess the public career of journalist Ida B. Wells.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Moso bamboo can flower only once every several decades. The long interval makes field observations difficult; _________________ researchers often rely on records collected by previous generations.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

The coastal restoration project was expected to attract visitors to the region’s beaches and walking trails. _________________ its primary goal was ecological: reconnecting fragmented marshes so that fish, birds, and native plants could move more easily through the habitat.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• In a 2019 study, ecologist Leah Evans examined how bright artificial light at night affected moth pollination.
• Evans found that moths visited flowers 62% less often under bright artificial light than in darkness.
• In a 2022 study, researcher Omar Patel tested dim amber lighting near meadows.
• Patel found that dim amber lighting caused no significant decrease in moth visits.
• Both studies focused on human-made night lighting and pollination.

The student wants to compare the findings of the two studies. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

Although the notebooks reveal many revisions, neither the early sketches nor the final map _________________ the cartographer’s signature.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

For decades, sailors’ journals were treated as colorful but unreliable descriptions of unusual weather at sea. Recently, however, climatologists compared some of those journals with tree-ring data and ice-core records from the same periods. Because the accounts often matched these independent records, the journals are now viewed not merely as anecdotes but as _________________ evidence.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

A recent study found that a few medieval manuscripts once believed to be the work of a single scribe were actually copied by several different scribes working in the same workshop. This discovery does not overturn the idea that the manuscripts share a common origin, but it does temper earlier claims about how uniform their production was.

As used in the text, what does the word temper most nearly mean?

Early maps of Mars sometimes showed long, straight lines that astronomers called canals. Later telescope observations and spacecraft images revealed that these supposed canals were not real physical structures on the planet’s surface. Still, historians of science continue to study the old maps because they reveal how expectations and limited instruments shaped what observers believed they saw.

Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?

Some desert plants bloom only after brief periods of rainfall. Ecologist Maren Liu argues that this synchronized flowering can benefit several plant species at once by drawing more pollinators into the area than any one species would attract alone.

Which finding, if true, would most strongly support Liu’s argument?

A research team tested two computer models designed to identify bird species from short audio recordings. The table shows the percentage of recordings each model classified correctly.

Birdsong Classification Accuracy

Pine warbler
Model R: 71%
Model S: 83%

Yellow warbler
Model R: 64%
Model S: 77%

Grasshopper sparrow
Model R: 68%
Model S: 74%

The researchers concluded that Model S was more accurate than Model R across the tested species.

Which choice best uses data from the table to support the researchers’ conclusion?

Known for transforming discarded metal into large outdoor sculptures, _________________ public parks, libraries, and university campuses throughout the Midwest.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

Computer scientist Radia Perlman developed an algorithm called the Spanning Tree Protocol _________________ without it, large computer networks would have been far more difficult to operate reliably.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?