PRACTICE PSAT 2

1 PRACTICE PSAT 2387 ANSWER SHEETLast Name: _____ First Name:_____Date: _____ Testing Location:_____Administering the Test Remove this answer sheetfrom the book and use it to record your answers to this test. This test will require2 hours and 10 minutesto complete. Take this test in one sitting. Use a stopwatch to time yourself on each section. The time limit for each section is written clearly at thebeginning of each section. The first four sections are 25 minutes long, and the last section is 30 minutes long. Each response mustcompletely fill the oval. Erase all stray marks completely, or they may be interpretedas responses. You must stop ALL work on a section when time is called. If you finish a section before the time has elapsed, check your work on that may NOT move onto the next section until time is called. Do not waste time on questions that seem too difficult for you.

2 Use the test book for scratchwork, but you will only receive credit for answers that are marked on the the Test Your scaled score, which will be determined from a conversion table, is based on your raw score for eachsection. You will receive one point toward your raw score for every correct answer. You will receive no points toward your raw score for an omitted question. For each wrong answer on a multiple-choice question, your raw score will be reduced by 1/4 point. For eachwrong answer on a numerical grid-in question (Section 4, questions 29 38), your raw score will receive 14 / PRACTICE PSAT 2389390 MCGRAW-HILL S PSAT/NMSQTS ection 1 Time 25 minutes24 Questions (1 24)Each of the sentences below is missing one or two portions. Read each sentence. Then select the choicethat most logically completes the sentence, taking into account the meaning of the sentence as a :Rather than accepting the theory unquestioningly, Deborah regarded it with.

3 (A) mirth(B) sadness(C) responsibility(D) ignorance(E) skepticismCorrectresponse:(E)B1 The lawyer was - - - - - - in her cross-examination; her aggressive questioning con-tinued for what seemed like days.(A) unrelenting(B) sympathetic(C) casual(D) reflective(E) stagnantB2A disaster was - - - - - - by the quick-thinkinghelmsman, who steered the ship away fromthe rocks that had - - - - - - emerged from theocean.(A) predicted::permanently(B) forestalled::reluctantly(C) averted::suddenly(D) dispelled::passively(E) avoided::serenelyB3 The - - - - - - decline in the price of the stockcaught many investors unprepared; theyhad expected its value to remain - - - - - - formany months, if not years.(A) unexpected::volatile(B) gradual::low(C) improvised::uniform(D) cumbersome::liquid(E) precipitous::stableB4 Unlike our previous manager, who oftenmade sudden decisions without thinkingcarefully about them, the new one is farmore - - - - - - and deliberate.

4 (A) capricious(B) pensive(C) remorseful(D) intolerant(E) inexorableB5 When spending long periods of time amongthe tribal peoples whose cultures they arestudying, - - - - - - should be careful not tointroduce harmful germs or disruptive tech-nologies into those societies.(A) herpetologists(B) oncologists(C) ornithologists(D) agronomists(E) anthropologistsGO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE z 1 CHAPTER 14 / PRACTICE PSAT 2391B6 Alicia s - - - - - - - - performance in the companyplay astonished those who were familiar withher - - - - - - - demeanor at work.(A) fearless::intrepid(B) emotional::stolid(C) inspiring::meticulous(D) stable::attentive(E) amusing::flippantB7In an industry in which truthfulness is toooften an impediment to success, many sales-people have had to become masters of- - - - - - - - in order to advance their careers.(A) prevarication(B) timidity(C) certitude(D) perseverance(E) consumptionB8 Gina considered her thousands of hours ofvolunteer work to be selfish rather than- - - - - - -; she simply enjoyed working withpeople and did not consider herself aparagon of.

5 (A) altruistic::magnanimity(B) egotistical::placidity(C) generous::diversity(D) reassuring::distortion(E) desperate::obsessionThe passages below are followed by questionsbased on their content and the relationshipbetween the passages. Answer each questionbased on what is stated or implied in 9 12 are based on thefollowing 1 Reasoning is aLinevital human activity. Forunlike some animals able to functioninstinctively, we need knowledge in order tosurvive. At the very least, knowledge facilitatesthe pursuit of knowledge canbe gained directly. In this way we know, forexample, that an object in front of us looksorange and tastes sweet. But we cannot knowthat it is edible and nutritious, or that itcontains vitamin C, which prevents scurvy,10without a process of reasoning. Similarly, wedo not need reasons to believe that everytriangle has three angles. But we cannot knowthat the angles of a triangle add up to 1808without evidence or proof.

6 The vast bulk of15human knowledge is based on , our knowledge can be described as apyramid, in which what is directly evidentprovides the foundation on which all otherbeliefs are 2 All20people ever want from us in an argumentis agreement, and they do not care how they getit. Believing this leads to a very suspicious,critical, investigative attitude which is the firstrequirement of successful less we believe, the lesslikely we are to believe something false. Whenarguing we always assume our opposers areboth sharp-minded and low-minded, so wenever underrate their ability. Since manyargument maneuvers30are not madeconsciously,the simple fact that people are sincere does notmean we can trust their arguments (though wemight be able to trust them). They might thinktheir arguments are correct when they may befull of , some people who believe in aposition also believe that anything furtheringthe position is acceptable.

7 This is the attitudethat the end justifies the means. But while theyare already convinced, we are not. We want thestraight goods,40while they want to sell us a billof 1 suggests that knowledge can be gained directly (line 5 6) through(A) instruction(B) instinctive reactions(C) reading(D) reasoning(E) the physical sensesGO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE z 1 First paragraph:An Introduction to Logic,#1985 by Prentice-Hall,Inc. Reproduced courtesy of Pearson Education, Inc., UpperSaddle River, paragraph:How to Win an Argument, Michael A. Gilbert.#1965 McGraw Hill, New York, p. 12392 MCGRAW-HILL S PSAT/NMSQTB10 The author of Passage 2 suggests that weshould have which of the following attitudestoward argumentation?(A) delight(B) skepticism(C) avoidance(D) humor(E) trustB11 The sentence beginning on line 29 [ Sincemany trust them ] assumesthat many of those who make arguments(A) are not fully aware of their reasoning(B) are not sincere about their positions(C) are too trusting of others(D) rely on manipulative strategies ofargumentation(E) do not have any formal training in logicalanalysisB12 The two passages differ in their perspectiveson belief in that Passage 1 regards it as(A) a necessary prerequisite of scientificreasoning, while Passage 2 regards it tobe exclusively in the domain of religiousthought(B) something that can be gained directly,while Passage 2 regards it as somethingunattainable(C) the ultimate goal of reasoning, whilePassage 2 claims it can be antitheticalto good argumentation(D)

8 The result of an instinctual process, whilePassage 2 regards it as the result of a con-scious process(E) something that people are trying toavoid, while Passage 2 regards it as some-thing that everyone seeksThe questions below are to be answered on the basisof what is stated or implied in the passages below orthe introductory material that precedes the 13 24 are based on thefollowing following passages discuss the moral andsocial value of capital 1 Reverence forLinehuman life is part of the moralfoundation of a just society. The onlyjustification for causing death is to prevent thedeaths of others. Thus, individuals have theright to use deadly5force to save their own livesfrom criminal aggressors, and countries havethe right to wage war to prevent their owndestruction. Likewise, a community can andshould use capital punishment to protect thelives of its Thomas Aquinaswrote: The slaying of an evildoer is lawfulinasmuch as it is directed to the welfare of thewhole community.

9 When judiciously applied as a punishmentfor the willful killing15of innocents, the deathpenalty serves to deter those who would murderand to protect society from those who havemurdered. By reserving the ultimate penalty ofdeath for those who wantonly kill, we areclearly proclaiming20our special reverence forlife. It is society s ultimate means of death of a criminal can certainly bejustified if it prevents the future deaths ofinnocent victims. Since death is the greatest25punishment a society can impose, it stands toreason that it is the most powerful way to deterthose who would commit a Isaac Ehrlich compared themurder rate in the30 United States with the rateof executions between 1933 and 1967. Hisconclusion: The trade-off between theexecution of an offender and the lives ofpotential victims it might have saved was of theorder of magnitude35of 1 for 8. In other words,each use of the death penalty seems to havedeterred the killing of eight potential decreased by almost 36 percentimmediately following a well-publicizedGO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE z 1 CHAPTER 14 / PRACTICE PSAT 2393execution,40according to the research ofsociologist David absence of a death threat encouragescrime.

10 In 1950, when 82 criminals wereexecuted, there were 7,020 homicides. In 1980,after a decade45of virtual abandonment of thedeath penalty, there were 22,958 homicides, a300 percent increase. As society became moreconcerned with the life of the criminal, lives ofinnocent victims became value50of the death penalty is onethat has been unfairly disparaged in thesofthearted modern era; punishment for thesake of doing justice. Some attack this notionby labelling it retribution, and argue that oursystem should seek55only deterrence andrehabilitation. deterrence is important, but it isa practical and utilitarian consideration ratherthan a moral and just one. Rehabilitation is aworthy ideal, but justice demands punishment60for the sake ofpunishment, the age-old notion of clear way we show our respect for life isto decree that those who unjustly take a lifeshould forfeit their own.