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Test Prep ACT Test Exam
American College Testing: English, Math, Reading, Science, Writing (Page 33 )

Updated On: 1-Feb-2026
Page 33 of 209
PDF with 1039 Questions

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the 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 the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Science Fiction

[§1] One of the most famous novels of all time, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, marked not only the highpoint of a young woman's literary career. But <1> also the beginning of a brand-new genre of literature begins science fiction. <2> In her remarkable tale, Shelley explores what might happen if a scientific possibility ­ the ability to restore life to the dead ­ were to become a reality. This exploration of how what-might-be would affect our world is the essence of science fiction.

[§2] What Shelley began, H. G. Wells perfected in dozens of science fiction works including The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. While Shelley's Frankenstein created a living creature from the body parts of the dead, Wells' characters traveled through time; created half-animal, half-human creatures; made themselves invisible; and having been attacked by Martians. <3> In all of his novels, Wells; like Shelly <4> used scientific possibilities to analyze and often criticize his own society. War of the Worlds, for example, is a thinly disguised attack on the British colonialism of his time.

[§3] Science fiction flourished in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s with "pulp" magazines that for the masses churned out science fiction stories. <5> Meanwhile, in Europe, science fiction writers were using science fiction to help bring about political change. Yevgeny Zamyatin's classic novel We, for example, is against <6> the Soviet Union's Communist agenda.

[§4] Today, science fiction writers around the world continue to explore possibilities ­ possibilities that are fast becoming realities. Much of what science fiction writers only dreamed of a century ago, such as cloning and space travel, have already come to pass. What is ahead? How will we handle these and other upcoming advances? Let us hope that science fiction writers are wrong, for all too often, characters in science fiction stories, like they're <7> forefather Victor Frankenstein, are unable to handle <8> the responsibility of having so much power over nature.

The writer wishes to add a brief summary of the plot of Frankenstein. The most logical place for this addition would be:

  1. to add it to the end of paragraph 1
  2. to create a new paragraph between paragraphs 1 and 2
  3. to add it after the third sentence in paragraph 1
  4. to create a new paragraph between paragraphs 2 and 3

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The introduction is too general to include a focus on the plot of Frankenstein, and because this novel marked the beginning of science fiction, it is entitled to its own paragraph. It would be out of chronological order to place it anywhere after that.



DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the 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 the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

<1>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. father (and originator) of
  3. father, and originator of,
  4. father of

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

This is the most concise choice. The other options are all redundant.



DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the 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 the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

<2>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. ourselves as creatures with
  3. ourselves, being like creatures with
  4. ourselves. As creatures with

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

The commas here are superfluous. Choice D would create a sentence fragment.



DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the 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 the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Wilma Rudolph

[§1] Wilma Rudolph was born a premature child in 1940, in Clarksville, Tennessee. Weighing <1> only four- and-a-half pounds. Wilma's mother did her best to care for her daughter, but the Rudolphs were very poor, and the local hospital would not care for Wilma. During her childhood, Wilma contracted measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, pneumonia, and later, polio, a crippling disease which at that time had no cure. At the age of four, she was told she would never walk again.

[§2] But Wilma's mother refused to give up. She found an African American medical college fifty miles away that would give Wilma the care she needs. <2> Although it was difficult to make the trip, Mrs. Rudolph took Wilma to the college twice a week. After two years of treatment, Wilma could walk with a brace. With her family's help, Wilma was able to walk normally without the aid of a crutch or brace by age twelve.

[§3] But simply walking wasn't enough for Wilma, who wanted to be <3> an athlete. She decided to play basketball, and for three years, she practiced with the team but didn't play in a single game. Then, in her sophomore year of high school, Wilma became a starting guard. For scoring she broke the state records <4> and led her team to the state championship. At the age of sixteen, she traveled to Melbourne, Australia, to run track events in the 1956 Olympics. She earned a bronze medal as part of a relay team.

[§4] After the high school from which she graduated, <5>Wilma was awarded a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, and her track career went into high gear. Before she earned her degree in education, she took a year off from her studies to compete all over the world. In 1960, Wilma's career as a runner reached its apex. She set a world record in the 200-meter race at the Olympic trials, <6> at the Olympics in Rome, she won the 100-meters, the 200-meters, and ran the anchor leg on the winning 4×100-meter relay team.

[§5] Wilma was proudest of a different kind of victory, in conclusion. <7> When she returned from her triumphs in Rome, and she insisted that the homecoming parade held in her honor not be a segregated event. This parade was the first racially integrated event ever held in Clarksville. Wilma continued to participate in protests until Clarksville's segregation laws were finally changed. <8>

While revising, the writer realizes the passage needs an introduction to convey the main idea of the essay. Which of the following sentences should he use as the first sentence to best achieve that purpose?

  1. No one would have guessed that Wilma Rudolph, a crippled child, would someday become an Olympic track star.
  2. Wilma Rudolph owes a great deal to her family, who helped her survive several severe illnesses.
  3. Wilma Rudolph was a famous Olympic athlete who had a lot of health problems as a child.
  4. Wilma Rudolph suffered from diseases that few children contract today.

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

This choice best conveys the main idea of the passage. Choice B focuses only on Rudolph's family; choice C understates the physical handicaps she overcame; and choice D does not mention her athletic accomplishments.



DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the 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 the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

The Gateway Arch

[§1] The skyline of St. Louis, Missouri, is fairly unremarkable, with one huge exception, the <1> Gateway Arch that stands on the banks of the Mississippi. Part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the Arch is a really cool monument <2> built to honor St. Louis' role as the gateway to the West.

[§2] Construction on the 630-foot high structure began, in 1961, <3> and was completed four years later in 1965. The monument includes an underground visitor center that explores westward expansion through galleries and a theater. Two passenger trams take visitors to the Observation Room and the Museum of Westward Expansion at the top.

[§3] In 1947, a group of interested citizens known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Association held a nationwide competition to select a design for a new monument that would celebrate <4> the growth of the United States. Other U.S. monuments are spires, statues, or imposed buildings, <5> but the winner of this contest was a plan for a completely unique structure. The man that <6> submitted the winning design, Eero Saarinen, later became a famous architect. In designing the Arch, Saarinen wanted to "create a monument which would have lasting significance and would be a landmark of our time."

[§4] The Gateway Arch is a masterpiece of engineering, a monument even taller than the Great Pyramid in Egypt, and on its own way, <7> at least as majestic. The Gateway is an inverted catenary curve, the same shape that a heavy chain will form if suspended between two points. Covered from top to bottom with sleek stainless steel coating, <8> the Arch often reflects dazzling bursts of sunlight. In a beautiful display of symmetry, the height of the arch is the same as the distance between the legs at ground level.

<3>:

  1. NO CHANGE
  2. began (in 1961)
  3. had begun in 1961
  4. began in 1961

Answer(s): D

Explanation:

There are no commas needed here.



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