QUESTION: 149

For the last hour I have been watching President Lincoln and General McClellan as they sat together in earnest conversation on the deck of a steamer closer to us. I am thankful, I am happy, that the President has come--has sprung across the dreadful intervening Washington, and come to see and hear and judge for his own wise and noble self.
While we were at dinner someone said, "Why, there's the President!" and he proved to be just arriving on the Ariel, at the end of the wharf. I stationed myself at once to watch for the coming of McClellan. The President stood on deck with a glass, with which, after a time, he inspected our boat, waving his handkerchief to us. My eyes and soul were in the direction of the general headquarters, over which the great balloon was slowly descending.
The "great balloon slowly descending" is apparently

the sun setting
remnants of a firestorm of the Potomac
the moon over the river
a mirage
McClellan's transport arriving

Answer(s): E

Explanation:

This is a literal question; McClellan is arriving via hot air balloon.

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QUESTION: 150

Big earthquakes are naturally occurring events well outside the powers of humans to create or stop. An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. Stresses in the earth's outer layer push the side of the fault together. The friction across the surface of the fault holds the rocks together so they do not slip immediately when pushed sideways. Eventually enough stress builds up and the rocks slip suddenly, releasing energy in waves that travel through the rock to cause the shaking that we feel during an earthquake. Earthquakes typically originate several tens of miles below the surface of the earth. It takes many years-- decades to centuries--to build up enough stress to make a large earthquake, and the fault may be tens to hundreds of miles long. The scale and force necessary to produce earthquakes are well beyond our daily lives. Likewise, people cannot prevent earthquakes from happening or stop them once they've started--giant nuclear explosions at shallow depths, like those in some movies, won't actually stop an earthquake.
The two most important variables affecting earthquake damage are the intensity of ground shaking cased by the quake and the quality of the engineering of structures in the region. The level of shaking, in turn, is controlled by the proximity of the earthquake source to the affected region and the types of rocks that seismic waves pass through en route (particularly those at or near the ground surface). Generally, the bigger and closer the earthquake, the stronger the shaking. But there have been large earthquakes with very little damage either because they caused little shaking or because the buildings were built to withstand that shaking. In other cases, moderate earthquakes have caused significant damage either because the shaking was locally amplified or more likely because the structures were poorly engineered.
The word fault means?

error
the place where two rock plates come together
criticize
responsibility
volcanic activity

Answer(s): B

Explanation:

Infer the answer from the context clues "the earth's outer layer push the side of the fault together" and "friction across the surface of the fault holds the rocks together."

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QUESTION: 151

the amount of damage
how soon people take action to stop the earthquake
how close the epicenter of the earthquake is to the area
how well the offices and homes have been built in the region
the duration of the quake

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The answer is directly stated: "The level of shaking, in turn, is controlled by the proximity of the earthquake source to the affected region and the types of rocks that seismicwaves pass through en route (particularly those at or near the ground surface).

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QUESTION: 152

explain some basic facts about the causes and effects of earthquakes
reassure people who are considering moving into regions prone to earthquakes that they will be safe from harm
teach people the methods they need to all eviate earthquake damage
persuade people to allocate more funding to earthquake research
describe the damage that earthquakes can cause and the reason for varying degrees of damage

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

Using process of elimination, choices B and C are directly contradicted by information in the text. Choice D is never mentioned. The second half of choice E is correct, but not the first half. Thus, the only possible correct response is choice A.

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Free SAT Section 1: Critical Reading Exam Braindumps (page: 38)

QUESTION: 149

Explanation:

QUESTION: 150

Explanation:

QUESTION: 151

Explanation:

QUESTION: 152

Explanation: