Chapter 8
English Practice Test 3
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ACT ENGLISH TEST
45 Minutes—75 Questions
DIRECTIONS: In the five passages that follow, certain words and phrases are underlined and numbered. In the right-hand column, you will find alternatives for each underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is best, choose “NO CHANGE.” In some cases, you will find in the right-hand column a question about the underlined part. You are to choose the best answer to the question.
You will also find questions about a section of the passage or the passage as a whole. These questions do not refer to an underlined portion of the passage but rather are identified by a number or numbers in a box.
For each question, choose the alternative you consider best and blacken the corresponding oval on your answer document. Read each passage through once before you begin to answer the questions that accompany it. For many of the questions, you must read several sentences beyond the question to determine the answer. Be sure that you have read far enough ahead each time you choose an alternative.
PASSAGE I
Cheeseburgers and Cats That Can Make You “lol”
1. If the writer were to delete the underlined portion (changing the comma after mice to a period), the sentence would primarily lose:
A. a description of one of the things that make lolcats unique.
B. a scientific fact describing a well-known species.
C. a concise statement of the essay’s main idea.
D. nothing at all, because it strays from the topic unnecessarily.
2. F. NO CHANGE
G. is writing
H. wrote
J. write
3. A. NO CHANGE
B. photographer Henry Pointer
C. photographer, Henry Pointer,
D. photographer; Henry Pointer
4. F. NO CHANGE
G. a French term meaning
H. being things called
J. and naming them
5. Given that all the choices are true, which one best conveys the idea that captions contributed to the humor of Pointer’s photographs?
A. NO CHANGE
B. Pointer would occasionally reuse captions when the picture could communicate most of what he wanted it to.
C. In fact, he soon understood that the humorous caption could make even the most mundane cat pictures charming or funny.
D. Pointer took so many pictures and wrote so many captions that neither required much effort of him.
6. F. NO CHANGE
G. with
H. in
J. of
7. If the writer were to divide this paragraph into two, the most logical place to begin the new paragraph would be at Point:
A. A.
B. B.
C. C.
D. D.
8. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?
F. in fact,
G. however,
H. by contrast,
J. on the other hand,
9. A. NO CHANGE
B. phrase
C. phrase that many people know
D. phrase that is pretty popular
10. F. NO CHANGE
G. is being
H. is
J. were
11. A. NO CHANGE
B. Now earning lots of money,
C. With their cameras in hand,
D. Promoting them on the Internet,
12. F. NO CHANGE
G. more
H. most
J. a lot
13. If the writer were to delete the phrase “cheeseburger-flavored” in the preceding sentence and replace it with “another line of,” the paragraph would primarily lose:
A. a particular detail that ends the essay on a humorous note.
B. a more detailed discussion of the different types of cats discussed in the essay.
C. a resolution to a difficult problem posed earlier in the essay.
D. an open question that is left to the reader to decide.
Question 14 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.
14. Suppose the writer’s goal had been to write a brief essay describing a new generation’s interest in animal photography. Would this essay accomplish that goal?
F. Yes, because it shows how important lolcats have been to a broader interest in photography.
G. Yes, because it narrates the simultaneous rise of digital photography and Internet usage.
H. No, because it details the different types of animal photography popular on the Internet.
J. No, because it focuses on lolcats and their history, not on photography more generally.
PASSAGE II
My Summer as a Teacher…or as a Student?
15. A. NO CHANGE
B. Monterrey. In
C. Monterrey in
D. Monterrey—in
16. F. NO CHANGE
G. burning.
H. scorching.
J. DELETE the underlined portion and end the sentence with a period.
17. Given that all the choices are true, which provides material most relevant to what follows in this paragraph?
A. NO CHANGE
B. I had only been to Mexico one time before, when I went with my parents to the beach.
C. Once I got there, though, I didn’t have any of the problems that I had worried about in advance.
D. The heat from the sun was nothing compared to the heat of the spicy food my family liked to cook.
18. Which choice most effectively expresses that the narrator’s host family was extremely welcoming?
F. NO CHANGE
G. as if I had lived there my whole life.
H. and asked how long I would be staying.
J. to their town.
19. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?
A. no language other than Spanish.
B. Spanish language others or no.
C. Spanish and no other language.
D. no other language.
20. F. NO CHANGE
G. hold
H. have held
J. held
21. A. NO CHANGE
B. family that hosted me
C. family I hosted
D. family, which hosted me,
23. Which choice most logically contrasts with the first part of this sentence?
A. NO CHANGE
B. my way around the town.
C. more than I could ever teach.
D. about the lives of those in my host family.
24. The best placement for the underlined portion would be:
F. where it is now.
G. after the word speak.
H. after the word Spanish.
J. after the word lived.
25. At this point, the writer is considering adding the following true statement:
In Spanish, the word for “coexistence” sounds just like ours: coexistencia.
Should the writer make this addition here?
A. Yes, because it clarifies the narrator’s earlier discussion of how welcome he felt with his host family.
B. Yes, because it supports the paragraph’s main idea by translating a word into Spanish.
C. No, because it digresses from the main topic of the paragraph.
D. No, because it shows that the narrator’s Spanish was not as proficient as he claimed.
26. F. NO CHANGE
G. class, I
H. class but I
J. class; I
27. A. NO CHANGE
B. had been.
C. been.
D. being.
28. F. NO CHANGE
G. Identified as one of the borderlands,
H. Showing all the mountains and rivers,
J. Becoming a new place for me,
29. Which of the following sentences, if added here, would most effectively express one of the main ideas of the essay?
A. To be honest, though, I was really glad to get home when it was all over.
B. The main thing I miss about the trip is the opportunity to practice my Spanish.
C. Ever since that time, I’ve often thought how alike my two homes really are.
D. That was my initial reaction, but I don’t think I really want to go back.
PASSAGE III
“Haunted” Authors
[1]
30. F. NO CHANGE
G. McLoughlin a well-known tennis player
H. McLoughlin, a well-known tennis player,
J. McLoughlin a well-known tennis player,
31. A. NO CHANGE
B. skills
C. secrets
D. abilities
32. F. NO CHANGE
G. Won
H. He won
J. Winning
33. A. NO CHANGE
B. for
C. about
D. DELETE the underlined portion.
34. F. NO CHANGE
G. the athletes’
H. the tennis players
J. the athletes
[2]
35. A. NO CHANGE
B. were
C. are
D. is
36. At this point, the writer is thinking about adding the following true statement:
Some suggest that ghostwriting is as old as authorship itself.
Should the writer make this addition here?
F. Yes, because it provides a transition from the previous paragraph to this one.
G. Yes, because it expands upon a point made in the preceding sentence.
H. No, because it does not apply to the main subject discussed in this paragraph.
J. No, because it suggests that most historical texts are ghostwritten.
37. A. NO CHANGE
B. was not the first,
C. was not the first
D. was, not the first,
38. F. NO CHANGE
G. its
H. her
J. their
[3]
39. Which choice provides the most logical and effective transition to the rest of the paragraph?
A. NO CHANGE
B. Is the practice restricted to celebrity autobiographies and memoirs?
C. Why would celebrities want other people to tell their stories?
D. What makes celebrities think ghostwriters know all the details of their lives?
40. Given that all the choices are true, which one provides the best support for the statement in an earlier part of this sentence?
F. NO CHANGE
G. but the speeches are usually written by a team of speechwriters.
H. but very few politicians have the oratorical skills of politicians from the last century.
J. although many politicians like to speak from notes rather than fully written speeches.
41. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?
A. songwriter, yet
B. songwriter; therefore,
C. songwriter, but
D. songwriter; however,
[4]
42. F. NO CHANGE
G. not
H. not,
J. not;
43. The writer is thinking about deleting the preceding sentence. Should this sentence be kept or deleted?
A. Kept, because it shows the importance of ghostwriting to Sinclair Lewis’s career.
B. Kept, because it provides a contrast to the fact stated in the next sentence.
C. Deleted, because it discusses a famous novelist in a paragraph about ghostwriters.
D. Deleted, because Sinclair Lewis is already mentioned in the first paragraph.
44. F. NO CHANGE
G. because
H. yet
J. DELETE the underlined portion.
Question 45 asks about the preceding passage as a whole.
45. While reviewing his research for this essay, the writer discovers a statistic and composes the following sentence:
Some in the industry suggest that as many as half of non-fiction books are written with help from ghostwriters.
If the writer were to include this sentence in the essay, the most logical place would be after the last sentence in Paragraph:
A. 1.
B. 2.
C. 3.
D. 4.
PASSAGE IV
From Broadcasts to Podcasts
46. The writer is considering deleting the phrase “as many as 91%” from the preceding sentence (adjusting the punctuation accordingly). Should this phrase be kept or deleted?
F. Kept, because it supports the idea that radio was on the decline after the 1930s.
G. Kept, because it gives specific evidence of radio’s popularity in the 1940s.
H. Deleted, because it discusses American households in a passage about radio listening.
J. Deleted, because it doesn’t describe the households that had radios.
47. A. NO CHANGE
B. in parts of the country outside cities
C. despite their possession of radios
D. DELETE the underlined portion
48. F. NO CHANGE
G. their wants and other things that might be perceived as needs, but were more likely wants.
H. the things they needed to listen to, such as comedy, news, sports, and drama, or other kinds of programs sometimes.
J. their listening needs.
49. A. NO CHANGE
B. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt
C. U.S. President, Franklin Roosevelt
D. U.S. President, Franklin Roosevelt,
50. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined portion would NOT be acceptable?
F. scouring
G. desiring
H. wanting
J. seeking
51. A. NO CHANGE
B. day, these included
C. day,
D. day having been
52. For the sake of the logic and coherence of this paragraph, Sentence 5 should be placed:
F. where it is now.
G. before Sentence 1.
H. after Sentence 2.
J. after Sentence 3.
53. A. NO CHANGE
B. merely then
C. mere then
D. than merely
54. F. NO CHANGE
G. was apparently
H. to appearance was
J. appeared as
55. Given that all the following statements are true, which one, if added here, would most clearly and effectively introduce the main subject of this paragraph?
A. Radio’s most popular programs, such as Gunsmoke, became popular television hits.
B. At least it seemed like a thing of the past until the iPod came along in 2001.
C. One of the last popular programs, The Zero Hour, was on in the early 1970s.
D. The presidential radio address has become a custom ever since Roosevelt’s early broadcasts.
56. F. NO CHANGE
G. radio broadcasts.
H. radio broadcasts’.
J. radio broadcast’s.
57. A. NO CHANGE
B. being mainstream in the underground,
C. mainstream or underground,
D. if they’re so underground they’re actually mainstream,
58. F. NO CHANGE
G. they’re
H. it’s essentially
J. their
Question 59 asks about the preceding passage as a whole
59. Suppose the writer’s goal had been to write a brief essay focusing on how contemporary broadcasters have been influenced by earlier broadcasters. Would this essay fulfill that goal?
A. Yes, because it makes clear that the podcast would not be likely to exist without old-time radio.
B. Yes, because it implies that the podcast has encouraged listeners to go back to earlier recordings.
C. No, because it does not offer a contemporary equivalent for Roosevelt’s fireside chats.
D. No, because it is more focused on sketching the rise in popularity of the podcast.
PASSAGE V
Vladimir Nabokov, Books, and Butterflies
60. F. NO CHANGE
G. was written
H. were wrote
J. was wrote
61. A. NO CHANGE
B. most famous works
C. works that are the most popular among readers
D. books that are very popular among critics and general readers alike
62. The writer is considering deleting the parenthetical information (and the parentheses) from the preceding sentence. If the writer were to make this deletion, the paragraph would primarily lose:
F. a detail that helps to place Lolita chronologically in Nabokov’s literary career.
G. the time during which Nabokov stopped writing to conduct his entomological research.
H. a detail needed to understand the historical and literary significance of Lolita.
J. the number of years that Nabokov spent writing Lolita.
63. Given that all the choices are true, which one most effectively leads the reader from this paragraph into the remainder of the essay?
A. NO CHANGE
B. Nabokov’s other novels include Pnin, Pale Fire, and the highly experimental Ada.
C. However, Nabokov was not exclusively a novelist and a man of letters.
D. Lolita is now considered an American classic, despite its original reception.
64. F. NO CHANGE
G. entomology being
H. entomology of
J. entomology,
65. A. NO CHANGE
B. structure of
C. structure
D. structure;
66. F. NO CHANGE
G. career;
H. career.
J. career,
67. A. NO CHANGE
B. He
C. Finally, he
D. Consequently, he
68. F. NO CHANGE
G. could just as well, have
H. could, just as well of
J. could just as well have
69. The best placement for the underlined portion would be:
A. where it is now.
B. after the word dismissed.
C. after the word ideas.
D. after the word supported.
70. F. NO CHANGE
G. the first
H. the one before anyone else
J. the scientist that was before others in the field
71. Given that all the choices are true, which one most effectively concludes the sentence by giving a specific example of Nabokov’s contribution to the study of moths and butterflies?
A. NO CHANGE
B. aided in his scientific researches by his wife, Vera, who drove Vladimir to his research sites.
C. the first to describe some species of moth and butterfly, including the Karner blue.
D. working on his novels at the same time that he made his scientific discoveries.
72. F. NO CHANGE
G. renamed, Nabokovia
H. renamed Nabokovia
J. renamed; Nabokovia
73. A. NO CHANGE
B. for example
C. nor
D. DELETE the underlined portion.
74. F. NO CHANGE
G. could have
H. has
J. have
75. A. NO CHANGE
B. an exception to
C. exceptionally a
D. an exceptionally