PSAT REVIEWMost Frequently Missed Questions

Critical ReadingO Skill Category: Determining the

Meaning of Words

Use vocabulary skills, context, roots, prefixes, and suffixes to determine the meaning of words.

The Scientists presentation was ________: they misstated, misinterpreted, and thoroughly misunderstood all aspects of the subject.

A. irresolute B. mundaneC. equivocalD. deplorableE. superficial

D.deplorable

The themes of the painter’s work were largely ______, showing little drama or imaginative flair.

A. esotericB. quixoticC. bombasticD. pedestrianE. ephemeral

D.pedestrian

Writing SkillsO Skill Category: Manage Word Choice

and Grammatical Relationships Between Words

Understand relationships between and among words including subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, and verb form and tense.

Archeologists have determined that the city was destroyed sometime in the eleventh century, resulting either from a war or a natural disaster.

A. century, resulting either fromB. century, either resulting fromC. century, which either resulted fromD. century either as a result ofE. century as the result of either

E.century as the result of either

The Caesar salad was named not for the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, as many people assume, it is named for the restaurant owner Caesar Cardini.

A. it is namedB. it was namedC. but it was namedD. it was namedE. but

E.but

The security office recommends that, when asked to provide a computer password, do not use any string of letters that can be found in a dictionary.

A. do not chooseB. not to chooseC. not choosingD. you not chooseE. your choice should be

D.you not choose

Born in London to Bengali parents and raised in Rhode Island, Jhumpa Lahiri’s fiction explored cultural conflicts that often arise for those who emigrate from India to the United States.

A. Jhumpa Lahiri’s fiction exploresB. Jhumpa Lahiri, whose fiction

exploresC. Jhumpa Lahiri explores in her fictionD. in whose fiction, Jhumpa Lahiri

exploresE. the fiction of Jhumpa Lahiri explores

C.Jhumpa Lahiri explores in her

fiction

Writing SkillsO Skill Category: Manage Grammatical

Structures Used to Modify or Compare Understand correct use of adjectives or adverbs, comparative structures (such as neither and nor), and phrases used to modify or compare.Select the one underlined part of the sentence that must be changed to make the sentence correct, or select "No error" to indicate that the sentence contains no error.

(a.) As young men, Orville Wright worked (b.) alongside his older brother Wilbur, (c.) first in a printing business and later in a bicycle shop, which (d.) soon became the site of aeronautical experiments. (e.) no error

A.As young men, Orville Wright

worked

The Pirahã people of Brazil (a) communicate almost as much by singing, whistling, (b) and humming (c) than they (d) do by pronouncing consonants and vowels. (e) No error

C.than they

(a) Since the age of eighteen, Yuan-tsung Chen left Beijing (b) for the countryside (c) to participate in land reform efforts; her novel, The Dragon’s Village , is (d) based on her experiences there. (e) No error

A.Since the age of eighteen, Yuan-tsung Chen left

Beijing

Had the sound of children playing not (a) awakened him when (b) they did , he would (c) in all probability (d) have missed his plane. (e) No error

B.they did , he would

Organs (a) located in the tail of the electric eel (b) enables the animal (c) to produce electricity, which it uses (d) in hunting prey. (e) No error

B.enables the animal

When governments intervene (a) on behalf of favored businesses, (b) give subsidies to corporations, (c) or supposedly business-friendly policies, (d) it violates the principle of free market competition. (e) No error

D.it violates the

principle of free market competition.

(a) That the thieves (b) were unable to sell the sculptures they (c) had smuggled out of Sicily suggests that the market for stolen antiquities (d) has shrunk . (e) No error

E. No error