116 1 SAT PRACTICE TESTS

Questions 12-22 are based on the following passage. 12. Select from the following the choice that forms
two distinct sentences that make sense.
You're a What? Ornithologist (A) laboratory. Besides these things, they may
Ornithologists study birds in their natural write
habitats or in f) the laboratory and it may also (B) laboratory. Besides, they may also write
be that they write research reports and propos­ (C) laboratory. And, besides this, they may write
als for grants, teach classes, present research to (D) laboratory. They also may write
the 8 public while they have administrative
duties related to these activities. 13. (A) NO CHANGE
$ Many questions about ornithology are (B) public, and have
best answered by observing birds in the wild (C) public, doing all this while having
during fieldwork. Ornithologists and their stu­ (D) public, when having
dents have done fieldwork in locations as remote
as the Andes Mountains in South America and 14. The writer is considering deleting the underlined
as nearby as the forests of southern Ohio and sentence. Should the writer do this?
the G, Midwest: fieldwork usually involves
surveying, or counting, birds and monitoring (A) Yes, because it does not relate to the content
their nests. Fieldwork is where many ornitholo­ of the paragraph it would be in.
gists learn how to collect data for research. For (B) Yes, because the information it contains is
example, they will watch and record different expressed later in the passage, so it would
species foraging to discover where and what be redundant.
they eat. During fieldwork, ornithologists might (C) No, because it provides detailed information
also attach metal or plastic bands to a bird's leg about fieldwork done by ornithologists.
to help identify individual birds and aid with (D) No, because it is an appropriate topic
survival estimates. sentence to introduce the second para­
[l] Much of the research that ornithologists graph, which focuses on fieldwork done by
do is in the lab. [2] But not all ornithologists ornithologists.
work outdoors. [3] For example, 0 feather
collecting during fieldwork are analyzed in the 15. (A) NO CHANGE
lab for a variety of purposes, including genetic (B) Midwest, fieldwork
mapping. [4] And some studies of migratory (C) Midwest. Fieldwork
behavior or mate choice might involve observ­ (D) Midwest; fieldwork
ing birds in special cages. [5] Ornithologists
16. (A) NO CHANGE
(B) collections of feathers
(C) feathers collected
(D) feathers, having been collected
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17. (C) The author says that the cicadas' best strategy for avoiding their parasites is to have a
long life cycle. This contradicts the statement in choice (C) from question 16 that th'e parasite
benefits from the fact that the cicadas have a long life cycle. Thus, (C) provides the best evi­
dence to answer question 17.

18. (C) The theory explains the phenomenon very well. The fact that the parasite has not been
found (lines 50-51) suggests that it does not exist but does not provide what scientists con­
sider to be empirical evidence because they believe that a lack of evidence should not be
considered evidence.

19. (C) As mentioned in question 8, the fact that the parasite has not been found provides good
support for the theory. The discovery of the parasite would be strong evidence against the
theory, but it would not invalidate it because it is possible that the parasite survived even
though it had to make it through the difficult 272-year period mentioned in line 60 without a
cicada to parasitize.

20. (C) The passage does not cite scientific studies. It does all of the others.
21. (B) The phrase "for possible future uses" (line 10) signals that values (which means "uses")
in the future are being referred to.

22. (C} "They can be continually recycled" (lines 23-24) signals that land can be used succes­
sively for an infinite number of purposes. "Does not mean they are infinite in amount" (lines
24-25) indicates that the amount of land cannot be increased.

23. (B) "Once dedicated, [a river system] cannot be used again without disturbing the constitu­
encies that use its features" (lines 44-46).

24. (C) This provides good evidence. The sentence says that once a river system is dedicated, it
cannot be used for other purposes without affecting those already using it.

25. (D) In context, perverse means "arising from obstinate persistence in an error:' The author is
saying that often unsustainable resource use is encouraged by policies that continue despite
evidence that they do not work.

26. (D) The author uses groundwater resources in the U.S. as an example of a situation in which
there exist "perverse institutional or legal incentives" (lines 61-62). The phrase "use it or lose
it" (line 68) immediately after "a lack of tradable rights to water" (lines 67-68) signals that the
author is saying that because people can't trade water rights they have an incentive to use the
water they have before others gain access to it and use it through digging wells.

27. (A) The author cites the example of cattle to illustrate the principle that private ownership
often results in more effective conservation of resources than public ownership. We can
infer that the author believes that cattle might become scarce if they were owned in com­
mon because individuals would have little incentive to care for cattle and limit the number of
cattle they consume. (In fact, the author might argue that people would have an incentive to
kill as many cattle as they can before others do.)

28. (A) The author argues throughout the passage that in many cases assigning ownership
rights is the most effective way to conserve unsustainable resources. In lines 98-99 he says,
"Getting the incentives right" should mean chiefly assigning property rights to environmental
goods.