1. SAT Question & Word of the Day – 10/7/2013
Choose the word or set of words that, when
inserted in the sentence, best fits the
meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Food can be ------- element in
family life, bringing us together
in times of trouble and in times
of joy.
(A) an addictive
(B) a conflicting
(C) a unifying
(D) a residual
(E) an inconsistent
2. SAT Question & Word of the Day – 10/8/2013
The following sentence contains either a single
error or no error at all. If the sentence contains
an error, select the one underlined part that
must be changed to make the sentence
correct. If the sentence contains no error,
select choice E.
A meteorite shows (a) an enormous variation in size,
from (b) micron-sized dust particles filtering slowly
through (c) the atmosphere to giants weighing many (d)
tons. No error (e)
a
b
c
d
e
3. SAT Question & Word of the Day – 10/9/2013
Choose the word or set of words
that, when inserted in the
sentence, best fits the meaning of
the sentence as a whole.
True to her altruistic beliefs,
Natalie ------- the ------- attitude of
her colleague that a client
represented nothing more than a
source of income and an
opportunity for advancing one’s
professional reputation.
(A) applauded . . conscientious
(B) condoned . . aggressive
(C) lamented . . mercenary
(D) adopted . . egotistical
(E) belittled . . magnanimous
4. SAT Question & Word of the Day – 10/10/2013
Part or all of the following sentence is
underlined; beneath the sentence are five
ways of phrasing the underlined material.
Select the option that produces the best
sentence. If you think the original phrasing
produces a better sentence than any of the
alternatives, select choice A.
The first public botanical garden in
the United States, the Elgin Botanic
Garden in New York City was
established to provide plant materials
for studying by medical students.
(A) for studying by medical students
(B) for medical students to study
(C) to medical students for their study
(D) for the study of medical students
(E) that medical students will study
5. SAT Question & Word of the Day – 10/11/2013
Part or all of the following sentence is underlined;
beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the
underlined material. Select the option that produces
the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing
produces a better sentence than any of the
alternatives, select choice A.
Certain shipwrecks have a particular fascination
for those people which have a belief in finding
the treasure in them.
(A) which have a belief in finding the treasure in
them
(B) that belief there is treasure to be found in them
(C) who believe they hold treasure and that they can
find it
(D) who believe that there is treasure to be found in
them
(E) who believe about treasure to be found in them
Editor's Notes
Answer: (C)
Answer: The error in this sentence occurs at (A), where there is noun-noun disagreement. Instead of the singular “A meteorite,” the plural “Meteorites” is needed to agree with the plural nouns found later in the sentence (“particles” and “giants”). In addition, the singular verb “shows” should be changed to “show.”
Answer: (C)Natalie, an “altruistic” (selfless, kind, and giving) person, would lament the attitude of a greedy and ambitious colleague whom she would describe as “mercenary.”
Answer: Choice (B) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by replacing the awkward and imprecise “for studying by medical students” with “for medical students to study.”
Answer: Choice (D) is correct. This sentence is awkward as written, and the pronoun "which" is the wrong relative pronoun to refer to "people" (the antecedent of the pronoun in this sentence). Choice (D) uses the correct pronoun "who" and more effectively than the other choices states the characteristics of people who are fascinated by shipwrecks. The correct sentence reads: Certain shipwrecks have a particular fascination for those people who believe that there is treasure to be found in them.
