ACT English, Reading, and Science Practice Exam

This practice exam contains 50 questions that review the 50 Skills that can be found at ACT English, Reading, and Science Prep. Take the test, check your answers, read and reread the solutions, and review the skill sections for any that you need more help on.

Questions

One early August day last year, I up to the rapid flapping of wings and the agitated high-pitched cry of my cat Hissy. She, with no results, to catch a frightened bat. I yelped, scrambled out of my bed, grabbed little Hissy, and slammed my bedroom door shut. I barged into Jenna and Sapphire's room, and begged to get it out of my room. They got up and put towels at the bottom of my door so the sly bat could not escape into the house. , Jenna went outside and climbed up to my roof and opened my window a crack, unaware of where the bat was lurking.

My mother anxiously watching Jenna. We waited for a long time, and then Jenna finally decided to climb into the room to check the situation. Apparently the bat had flown out without any of us even noticing. The relief was overwhelming. We had no the shots to come.

1.  
   1. NO CHANGE
   2. waking
   3. woke
   4. had been waked
2.  
   6. NO CHANGE
   7. was
   8. trying
   10. was trying
3.  
   1. NO CHANGE
   2. them
   3. it
   4. its
4.  
   6. NO CHANGE
   7. Then,
   8. Still
   10. However
5.  
   1. NO CHANGE
   2. and, I sat
   3. and I sat,
   4. and I, sat,
6.  
   6. NO CHANGE
   7. idea; however, about
   8. idea, however about
   10. idea however about

The following day, we called the doctor's office and asked if there was anything we had to do since I had a bat in my room. Then, the news came. I needed rabies shots so that I wouldn't be foaming at the mouth or anything like that. news," my mom agreed.

I went to the Emergency Room to get my first round of shots. I went in and lay down in a bed and waited. The in and said that in that one day, I would four shots: two shots in my butt, two shots in my arms!

The pain was agonizing. Having trouble finding my three times. I ended up passing out right after the first shot. After waking up, I got more bad news. I would have to go get more rabies vaccines, nine total!

That month was dreadful. I would sit for hours in the Emergency Room, waiting for my name to be called. Once when I was there, the Emergency

7.  
   1. NO CHANGE
   2. woken up with
   3. woken up in
   4. woken up from
8.  
   6. NO CHANGE
   7. Its awful
   8. That being awful
   10. It being awful
9.  
   1. NO CHANGE
   2. nurse's came
   3. nurse's came
   4. nurses came
10.  
    6. NO CHANGE
    7. get to be having
    8. be having to be getting
    10. have to get
11.  
    1. NO CHANGE
    2. vein, I was injected
    3. injections were given to me
    4. vein, the nurse had to be injecting me
12.  
    6. NO CHANGE
    7. deeply
    8. anxiously
    10. intensely

Room was so crowded that the nurse giving me the shot simply put me on a rolling computer chair in the middle of the Emergency Room. The nurse started to give me the shot, but then I passed out

Every time I would go, they would say, "Hey, it's rabies girl." Even the kids in my high school picked up on it. It's not my favorite nickname, but I guess it has character.

When I had finished my rabies series, I felt invincible. I was a pro at getting shots and could go up to any animal I wanted without getting rabies. And, even though I haven't hugged any raccoons in the past fourteen months, today stronger and braver than ever.

13. If the writer were to delete the underlined portion, the paragraph would lose
    1. a tie-in to the introduction
    2. a transition from one sentence to the next
    3. a comical anecdote
    4. nothing at all, since this sentence is out of place
14. Which of the following true statements would best introduce the tone and focus of this paragraph?
    6. After that crazy day, I had a new nickname.
    7. I was invincible after surviving the shots.
    8. Boy, those shots hurt!
    10. I never passed out from the shots again.
15. Suppose the author had intended for the final paragraph to serve as a conclusion for the essay. Would the paragraph fulfill this goal?
    1. Yes, because the paragraph provides many details about the rabies shots.
    2. Yes, because the paragraph wraps up the writer's rabies shots experience and describes her lesson from the experience.
    3. No, because the paragraph does not wrap up the essay as a whole.
    4. No, because the paragraph lacks sufficient details to back up its claim.
16.  
    6. NO CHANGE
    7. am felt
    8. feel
    10. been feeling

HUMANITIES: This passage is adapted from the article "The New British Art Culture: Come Together Right Now" by Michael Brooks.

In her important and original essay "Everyone Is Creative" (which focuses on the Blair government's approach to art and pop culture), British theorist Angela McRobbie argued that the Labour government has worked to put art at the "front and center" of the new British economy while at the same time pushing artists into the insecurity of the market.

McRobbie argues that artists who are thrown into a market-driven system of cultural production end up reflecting "mass culture" and do not provide an alternative view, thereby limiting an essential function of art. Artists are little more than cultural entrepreneurs in a system which places their focus on marketing goods. While there is undoubtedly positive development in many respects which allows for greater creative fulfillment and career choice for those with artistic livelihoods, it does dampen the ability of the artist to speak freely and act in community.

While artists are now acknowledged as integral parts of the "post industrial" marketplace, and as a result given a higher social currency particularly in the corporate sector, the artist has become dependent on a system of production that can stifle their own original voices. So how can artists survive in a competitive and individualist marketplace while still maintaining artistic freedom and success?

There is a burgeoning movement across this country to "reclaim the commons" and this movement is incredibly relevant to the artistic community. The commons exist outside of either private or government control. They are public in the fullest sense of the word. Examples of the commons include open academic research, open environmental resources, open source computer software like Linux as well as folk art and oral traditions. Artists who understand the creative commons recognize that while each individual work is new and distinct they each build of a shared creative lineage.

For instance, Bob Dylan is a genius who shaped American music, but his work was inspired by the American folk music tradition and biblical literature and poetry. Dylan's music does not stand separate from any of these currents. So while we acknowledge Dylan's unique and vital voice in the forming of American music, we also see that he built of other sources. Stanford Law professor and Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig notes the simple understanding of this collaborative process and shared innovation is seriously jeopardized by today's system of patents and intellectual property rights.

David Bollier, one of America's foremost proponents of the commons, illustrates such absurd examples of over the top intellectual property rights extremism by recounting the ASCAP's attempt to charge the Girl Scouts for singing songs around a campfire and the estate of J. R. R. Tolkien threatening legal action against a professional clown who called himself Gandalf.

Promoters of the commons are not attempting to separate artists from properly claiming their work, rather they are responding to these ridiculous attempts at control of common cultural artifacts. The commons creates an idea of community for artists in an era of free agents. Both through different legal and financial networks, but also through a strong and collaborative community the commons can help set arts in a new and free direction. This is nothing new. Artistic cultural movers from the Impressionists to the Harlem Renaissance artists have always flourished in shared community.

17. The main theme of this passage concerns
    1. the controversy between artists and politicians
    2. the community movement in art
    3. the recent instability of art gallery sales
    4. absurd examples of property rights in art
18. Which of the following best describes David Bollier's opinion about the "commons" system?
    6. Disregard and apathy
    7. Acknowledgment of the need for its reform
    8. Respect for the institution
    10. Suspicion of foul play
19. As it is used in line 19, the word "dampen" most nearly means
    1. make wet
    2. diminish
    3. make boring
    4. enhance
20. According to the passage, to "reclaim the commons" refers to
    6. freeing public culture from restrictive private ownership
    7. tighten intellectual property rights laws
    8. promote art through academic research
    10. increase government control of artistic property
21. It can reasonably be inferred from the first paragraph that McRobbie
    1. agrees strongly with the Labour government's actions regarding art
    2. believes that art has little value in a time of economic crisis
    3. opposes the British "commons" system
    4. disagrees with the Labour government's actions regarding art
22. According to the final paragraph, which of the following best describes the author's opinion of promoters of the commons?
    6. He believes that they are attempting to unjustly profit.
    7. He believes that they are trying to control common cultural artifacts.
    8. He believes that they are attempting to liberate art.
    10. He believes that they are attempting to copy Impressionist artistic styles.
23. The main purpose of the passage can best be described as an effort to
    1. explain the appeal of public ownership of artistic heritage
    2. explore the need for a market-driven system of cultural production
    3. examine contributing causes to the complete loss of artistic freedom
    4. describe how the British government has come to the aid of struggling artists
24. The passage opens by citing an essay to introduce a topic of concern that the rest of the passage
    6. paraphrases
    7. debunks
    8. refutes
    10. explores
25. The phrase "higher social currency," as it is used in line 24, might refer to all of the following EXCEPT
    1. elevated social status
    2. more artistic freedom
    3. increased participation in commerce
    4. added economic opportunity
26. As it is used in line 51, the word "vital" means
    6. lively
    7. vigorous
    8. brisk
    10. very important
27. Which of the following best exemplifies the commons?
    1. A mural commissioned by the government
    2. A beautiful new sculpture purchased for the entryway of a corporate headquarters
    3. Collaboration between many artists to create a free website gallery of their work
    4. A national park
28. According to the first two paragraphs, McRobbie opposes market-driven art because it
    6. loses its independent and unconventional vision
    7. is of no economic value
    8. loses touch with mainstream culture
    10. reduces marketing opportunities
29. Which of the following statements would the author most likely make with regard to Bob Dylan?
    1. He is an imposter whose work is overrated.
    2. He drew upon diverse influences to create something new.
    3. His music is truly original.
    4. He would have benefited from stricter intellectual property laws.

When two male hexagon wasps encounter each other, there is a standoff until one of them backs away. The winner is referred to as "dominant." Students conducted experiments to examine the rankings of male wasps in a group. In the experiment described below, four adult male wasps were examined and then placed together in a large glass box. Their dominance interactions were observed and recorded.

Experiment 1

A student placed four hexagon wasps, referred to as wasps A, B, C, or D, into four different examining containers. For each wasp, the student recorded wingspan, age, and number of abdominal marking. The results are shown in Table 1.

Experiment 2

All wasps were removed from their individual containers and then introduced into a large glass box. The student recorded their interactions in the box. In an interaction between two wasps, a wasp was labeled dominant when the other backed away. Table 2 shows the results from the interactions in the box.

Based on the results of their interactions, Table 3 ranks the wasps in order of dominance.

30. According to the results of Experiment 1, which of the following factors is (are) related to the number of abdominal markings on an adult male wasp?
    6. Wingspan only
    7. Age only
    8. Wingspan and age
    10. Neither wingspan nor age
31. One can conclude from the results of Experiment 2 that wasp B was dominant
    1. 0 times
    2. 1 time
    3. 2 time
    4. 3 time
32. Which of the following generalizations about the relationship between wasp age and number of abdominal markings is consistent with the experimental results?
    6. The youngest wasp will have the most markings.
    7. The oldest wasp will have the most markings.
    8. The oldest wasp will have the least number of abdominal markings.
    10. Age has no effect on number of abdominal markings.
33. A fifth wasp, whose wingspan was 13 mm, was added to the experimental box. Based on the results of Table 1 and Table 3, the wasp would likely be
    1. most dominant
    2. most dominant
    3. neither most nor least dominant
    4. There is no relationship between wingspan and dominance
34. One can conclude from the results of Experiment 2 that wasp A backed away
    6. 0 times
    7. 1 time
    8. 2 time
    10. 3 time
35. It was suggested that the number of abdominal markings predict a wasp's level of dominance. Do the results of the passage support this hypothesis?
    1. Yes, because the number of abdominal markings and dominance consistently correlate.
    2. Yes, because the most dominant male hexagon wasp had the most markings.
    3. No, because the least dominant wasp had the most markings.
    4. No, because the number of abdominal markings and dominance do not consistently correlate.
36. Experiments 1 and 2 differ primarily in that
    6. Experiment 1 measures size and age of the wasps and Experiment 2 measures flight speed of the wasps
    7. Experiment 1 records characteristics of the wasps and Experiment 2 records results of their interactions
    8. Experiment 1 tests a hypothesis and Experiment 2 retests it
    10. Experiments 1 and 2 test two related hypotheses
37. The graph below reflects the relationship between wasp age and which of the following characteristics?



1. Wingspan
2. Number of abdominal markings
3. Nondominance
4. Weight