ACT & College Preparation Course for the Christian Student

My wife Karen often scolds me for avoiding perfection by “making do.” She means it, I know, as a pejorative comment. Of course she is hyper-critical (!) (not really); she should learn to compromise more (but alas, she is cursed by her oldest sibling perfectionist syndrome — she is the oldest of 12 children/siblings).

Seriously though, Karen is right (but don’t tell her I said this!). Too often I am too lazy, or too busy, to seek perfection in what I do. I compromise too often, I fear.

And compromise is not all bad. We compromise about what restaurant we frequent — that is a good compromise.

Here is a bad compromise.

In the 1950s I remember my mother voting for Governor Orville Faubus (a notorious segregationist). “Why,” a friend asked mom, “would you vote for a man who is diametrically opposed to your worldview?” (Mom was opposed to Faubus’s racial views.)

“Because,” Mom softly responded, “he is in favor of widening Highway 65 [an important road in our small Arkansas town].”

Do you see what I mean? Mom, a good woman really, principled in her own way, voted against her conscience to advance a laudable, even necessary improvement: expansion of an important roadway. This roadway would bring life and prosperity to our region. No doubt, Highway 65 was a good thing.

But Faubus was elected and Faubus tried to stop desegregation at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. President Eisenhower had to mobilize the American army. How awful!

But we also got a beautiful new road!

Friends, twice in the last 50 years pro-choice administrations were elected by a solid majority of Americans. If one examines closely the voting patterns, the administration won support — overwhelming support — from some pro-life evangelical groups. Come by me again? That is right — a ton of us (but not me!) pro-lifers voted for a pro-choice candidate for . . . well, perhaps we needed Highway 65 built. And Highway 65 will bring us prosperity and nothing is wrong with prosperity, is there?

Pray about it.

OCABULARY

The Scarlet Pimpernel2

Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel was first a classic play and then it became an adventure novel, both by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The novel occurs during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the “disguised superhero” tales such as Spiderman and Superman.

Suggested Vocabulary Words

A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and of hate.
During the greater part of the day the guillotine had been kept busy at its ghastly work: all that France had boasted of in the past centuries, of ancient names, and blue blood, had paid toll to her desire for liberty and for fraternity. The carnage had only ceased at this late hour of the day because there were other more interesting sights for the people to witness, a little while before the final closing of the barricades for the night.
Their ancestors had oppressed the people, had crushed them under the scarlet heels of their dainty buckled shoes, and now the people had become the rulers of France and crushed their former masters — not beneath their heel, for they went shoeless mostly in these days — but a more effectual weight, the knife of the guillotine.

Test-Taking

Insight

Science Counter Arguments

The ACT science section has one nasty passage that concerns conflict viewpoints. In other words, the passage will have a reading from one scientist on a relevant subject. Next, there will be a reading from another, opposing scientist, on the same subject. You will be asked to identify each scientific argument. For instance, one scientist argues that radical changes in temperature will exacerbate cold symptoms. Another scientist will argue the opposite. Your job is to analyze both arguments, and while you will not be asked to choose one viewpoint over another, you will have to identify each scientist’s evidence and argument. You will need to identify assumptions made by each scientist and ultimately tease out each scientist’s point of view. Finally, perhaps the most difficult questions on the ACT occur at this point. You will be asked to strengthen or support a scientist’s argument. For instance, if a scientist argues that radical changes in temperature exacerbate the symptoms of the common cold, you could suggest that his argument would be strengthened if he could show statistically that a vast majority of people with colds who experience radical temperature shifts in fact experience more detrimental cold symptoms. Remember: as you answer questions, be sure and mark up each scientist’s argument/main points. Also, remember, it really doesn’t matter which scientist is right.

RITING

Evaluating Essays

Score the following essay and then discuss how it could be improved.

What can we learn from failure?

I agree that success requires failure. Throughout history, there have been many great men who had to fail before they savoured the sweet taste of success. I will use four examples of men who failed before succeeding.

Firstly, IFBB bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman holds the title of winning Mr. Olympia eight years in a row. However, prior to his eight-year winning streak, he placed in 14th, 9th, and 4th. His success came because he learned from his failures and improved for the following competitions.

In the same way, the Wright brothers, inventors of the airplane, failed to create and fly their prototype for years. Therefore, had they not failed so many times, they would have not been able to improve their mistakes.

Lastly, there are two men known for their many failures before they succeeded. William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. Both failed many times before their success was reached. Wilberforce fought for the abolishment of the slave trade in England and King fought for the abolishment of segregation and racism. Both of these men failed countless times and they both gave their lives until they succeeded, literally.

In conclusion, whether you are a pro bodybuilder, an inventor, or public activist fighting and protesting to the death, success requires failure to come true.

CIENCE

Christoper Columbus would have used a map like this. This made him conclude that he could reach China by sailing West in a couple of months. He was wrong. What are some possible explanations:

Cartographers and Columbus considered the world to be much smaller than it really is.
There was an unknown continent between Europe and China.
Sea monsters caused Columbus to avoid the West Indian Trade winds.
Cartographers and Columbus considered the world to be much larger than it really is.

I
II
III
IV
I and II
III and IV
None

EADING

Inference

A surging, seething, murmuring crowd of beings that are human only in name, for to the eye and ear they seem naught but savage creatures, animated by vile passions and by the lust of vengeance and of hate. The hour, some little time before sunset, and the place, the West Barricade, at the very spot where, a decade later, a proud tyrant raised an undying monument to the nation’s glory and his own vanity.

During the greater part of the day the guillotine had been kept busy at its ghastly work: all that France had boasted of in the past centuries, of ancient names, and blue blood, had paid toll to her desire for liberty and for fraternity. The carnage had only ceased at this late hour of the day because there were other more interesting sights for the people to witness, a little while before the final closing of the barricades for the night.

And so the crowd rushed away from the Place de la Greve and made for the various barricades in order to watch this interesting and amusing sight.

It was to be seen every day, for those aristos were such fools! They were traitors to the people of course, all of them, men, women, and children, who happened to be descendants of the great men who since the Crusades had made the glory of France: her old NOBLESSE. Their ancestors had oppressed the people, had crushed them under the scarlet heels of their dainty buckled shoes, and now the people had become the rulers of France and crushed their former masters — not beneath their heel, for they went shoeless mostly in these days — but a more effectual weight, the knife of the guillotine.

And daily, hourly, the hideous instrument of torture claimed its many victims — old men, young women, tiny children until the day when it would finally demand the head of a King and of a beautiful young Queen.3 — The Scarlet Pimpernel

Based on this passage, the following inferences are true:

The French Revolution, while it had it excesses, was a necessary evil.
While there were injustices, the excesses of the French Revolution made the Revolution worse than the injustices.
The guillotine, while it was intended to be a merciful execution device, was in fact, in the hand of the terrorists, a cruel, inhumane tool.

I
II
III
All
None
I and III

NGLISH

Grammar

Which part of each of the following sentences is wrong?

(A) Last year, we spent our vacation in California(B), this year we plan to go to Disney World.

(A) While I washed the car, (B)my black dog took his bone, and (C) went swimming.

(A) Today I learned a lot about the Pilgrims (B), especially the parts about John Winthrop and Squanto.

ATH

Word Problems

William paid eight times as much for a dictionary as for a thesaurus. If the difference in price was $6.30, how much did he pay for each?
The sum of two numbers is 4,256, and one is 37 times as great as the other. What are the numbers?
Aleck has 48 cents more than Arthur, and seven times Arthur’s money equals Aleck’s. How much has each?
The sum of the ages of a mother and daughter is 32 years, and the age of the mother is seven times that of the daughter. What is the age of each?
John’s age is three times that of Mary, and he is ten years older. What is the age of each?