SAT For Dummies. Ron Woldoff

Чтение книги онлайн.

      1 A. Lines 1 through 4 make clear that the site (that is, the geography and climate) where people live is a factor in human culture, a belief expressed by Choice (A). Did Choice (C) entrap you? Lines 10–12 refer to the fall of the Mayan Empire because of extreme drought, but Line 3 firmly asserts that climate isn’t the sole factor determining the stability of a civilization.

      2 A. Check out the answer explanation to Question 32, and you see that the lines in Choice (A) support the idea that history is intertwined with geography.

      3 C. Lines 6–8 tell you that “climate has undergone many variations … so, too, are there shifts in civilizations.” The word too tells you that you’re looking for a synonym of variations, which Choice (C) provides. Choice (B) is close, but a modification usually refers to a small change to an existing thing, and the paragraph describes more extreme changes.

      4 B. The Mayan empire fell because of a prolonged drought (Lines 10–11), so you can immediately eliminate Choices (C) and (D). To choose between the remaining two answers, examine the whole paragraph, which discusses the effect of climate on human culture. In that context, Choice (B) is the best answer.

      5 C. Ancient seers tried to predict the future, and Lines 15–16 tell you that today’s scientists are “preparing for major shifts in trade, population density, and political affinity” — future trends, in other words. Hence, Choice (C) is correct.

      6 A. The third paragraph of Passage 1 (Lines 24–35) talks about climate and culture. The passage states that the eruption of Mt. Toba brought on an ice age, but — and this is an important but — human culture survived intact (not damaged or broken). Therefore, Choice (A) is your best answer here.

      7 A. Choices (A), (B), and (C) are out because the second paragraph of Passage 2 states that “through most of the dinosaur era the planet’s normal state was decidedly steamier.” This also makes Choice (D) the correct answer.

      8 C. Lines 46–47 state that “most of the dinosaur era,” the earth was warmer, so the climate didn’t change and thus affect the oviraptor.

      9 C. Lines 64–66 state that “human industry has wrought profound changes in the Earth’s atmosphere since the last warm period.” Thus, the author considers how humans affect climate, not the other way around, as is the case in Passage 1. Go for Choice (C).

      10 A. Passage 1 makes a point of stating that climate isn’t “a constant” (Line 5), and Passage 2 flat out tells you that climate is always changing. Therefore, Choice (A) fits perfectly. Choice (C) may have lured you because the author of Passage 2 does state that human activity is a factor; Passage 1, however, ignores the human effect on the weather.

      11 B. Choice (A) is out because Passage 1 talks about Mt. Toba, which led to global cooling (not warming). Passage 2 doesn’t really deal with volcanoes, so Choice (C) is also out. Passage 1 ignores human effects on climate, so the answer can’t be Choice (D). As a result, Choice (B) is the correct answer.