Take this Quiz: PSAT Reading — twelve short passages, and evidence that bears on the claim | Zestly

Question 1

"Dr. Petra Solano argues that the migration of the Hollow Ridge moth is driven chiefly by temperature rather than by the availability of food. The moths do follow the blooming cycles of mountain flowers, but Solano notes that their arrival in the high meadows lines up with the first frost of the season every year, whether the flowers have opened early or late." Which choice best states the main idea of what the writer reports?

Accepted Answer

Solano holds that temperature, not food supply, sets the timing of the migration.

Answer

The high meadows are the only place these moths can live.

Answer

The blooming of the flowers has nothing to do with the moths at all.

Answer

The moths follow the blooming cycles of mountain flowers.

Question 2

"The Grand Aethel Bridge, built in the twelfth century, was made with an unusual mixture of volcanic ash and limestone. Historians tend to dwell on the elegance of its arches, but what kept the span standing was the reaction between the ash and the mortar, which formed a seal that river water could not penetrate. The bridge has outlasted every other crossing on that river." Which choice best states the main idea of what the writer reports?

Accepted Answer

The bridge lasted because of a chemical reaction in its mortar, not because of its design.

Answer

The arches were shaped as they were in order to hold back floodwater.

Answer

Volcanic ash was added to the mixture for the sake of its appearance.

Answer

The bridge is admired for the elegance of its arches.

Question 3

"The sociologist Elena Vance studied how remote work has changed small towns. She found that although people in these towns were more connected online than ever, the number of face-to-face meetings in public squares had fallen by forty percent over the same period. Vance concludes that the move to virtual contact has changed the social fabric of these places rather than simply adding to it." Which choice best states the main idea of what the writer reports?

Accepted Answer

Vance holds that virtual contact has changed how people in these towns meet, not merely supplemented it.

Answer

Face-to-face meetings in these towns have become more frequent.

Answer

Online connection has made no difference to small towns.

Answer

Public squares in small towns are being closed and sold.

Question 4

"The Verdant Valley pottery tradition is known for the fine geometric patterns cut into its vessels. Archaeologists have found that many of these patterns match the constellations visible from the valley floor. The vessels themselves were used for everyday cooking, and the patterns were cut into them only after they had been fired in the kiln, which is unusual and made the work considerably harder." According to the writer, when were the patterns cut into the vessels?

Answer

Before the clay was shaped into vessels.

Answer

While the vessels were still in the kiln.

Answer

At the same time as the clay was being worked.

Answer

After the vessels had been fired.

Question 5

"In the 1920s the Zenith Textile Mill moved to a six-day working week in the hope of raising production. The hours were longer, but output per worker stayed where it had been. The mill manager, Silas Vane, blamed this on the absence of training for the new machinery, which had been installed only a few months earlier." According to the writer, what happened to output per worker after the change?

Answer

It rose, but by less than the manager had hoped.

Answer

It did not change.

Answer

It rose sharply over the following months.

Answer

It fell, because the workers were tired.

Question 6

"The Calder Forest Reserve was established to protect the Azure Jay, a bird found nowhere else. Surveys carried out last season put the population at two hundred birds, a figure that has held steady for three years. Rangers warn, however, that there are very few places to nest in the northern part of the reserve, and that this will limit any growth in the population." According to the rangers, what stands in the way of the population growing?

Answer

That there are few places to nest in the northern part of the reserve.

Answer

That the reserve has only been established recently.

Answer

That the birds are found nowhere else in the world.

Answer

That the population is currently falling.