PSAT Critical Reading Practice Questions

Complete the sentence with the most appropriate word or words.

1. Despite its bad history, there is still the _____ for good in the law.
A: responsibility
B: liability
C: potential
D: condition

2. Having grown up in Las Vegas, he felt he could _____ with the problems of the desert-dweller.
A: sympathize
B: ignore
C: converse
D: carry on

3. Although Geoff could see the _____ argument, he nevertheless stuck to his original point.
A: refusing
B: convincing
C: opposing
D: invasive

4. Even though he was not on the _____, he still offered the boss some _____ advice.
A: roster________disgusting
B: payroll____informal
C: bench____characteristic
D: planet________sublunar

5. Henry _____ his nails throughout the _____ game.
A: filed____.competitive
B: chewed____tense
C: ignored____judicious
D: hammered____curious

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow. Beyond the great prairies and in the shadow of the Rockies lie the Foothills. For nine hundred miles the prairies spread themselves out in vast level reaches, and then begin to climb over softly rounded mounds that ever grow higher and sharper till, here and there, they break into jagged points and at last rest upon the great bases of the mighty mountains. These rounded hills that join the prairies to the mountains form the Foothill Country. They extend for about a hundred miles only, but no other hundred miles of the great West are so full of interest and romance. The natural features of the country combine the beauties of prairie and of mountain scenery. There are valleys so wide that the farther side melts into the horizon, and uplands so vast as to suggest the unbroken prairie. Nearer the mountains the valleys dip deep and ever deeper till they narrow into canyons through which mountain torrents pour their blue-gray waters from glaciers that lie glistening between the white peaks far away. Here are the great ranges on which feed herds of cattle and horses. Here are the homes of the ranchmen, in whose wild, free, lonely existence there mingles much of the tragedy and comedy, the humor and pathos, that go to make up the romance of life. Among them are to be found the most enterprising, the most daring, of the peoples of the old lands. The broken, the outcast, the disappointed, these too have found their way to the ranches among the Foothills. A country it is whose sunlit hills and shaded valleys reflect themselves in the lives of its people; for nowhere are the contrasts of light and shade more vividly seen than in the homes of the ranchmen of the Albertas .

6. This passage most likely comes from:
A: the end of an editorial
B: the beginning of a story
C: a brochure for Colorado D: the back of a cereal box

7. Based on the context, what is the best definition for 'pathos'?
A: shade
B: hunger
C: passage
D: sadness

8. Which two regions are combined in the Foothill Country?
A: mountains and coastline
B: prairies and mountains
C: prairies and foothills
D: foothills and mountains

9. Which word best describes the author's attitude towards the Foothill Country?
A: admiration
B: indifferent
C: curious
D: benign

10. How do 'sunlit hills and shaded valleys' epitomize the lives of the foothill-dwellers?
A: these people tried to stay out of the sun for the most part
B: these people relied on solar energy to power their cars
C: these people lived according to the seasons
D: these people endure great hardships and enjoy great pleasure

Answer Key

1. C. The sentence suggests that the law has not yet made good on some possibilities.

2. A. A person who grew up in Nevada would be able to appreciate from experience the problems of living in the desert.

3. C. The structure of the sentence suggests that Geoff did see the value of another side.

4. B. A person who is not a paid employee might still give some casual advice.

5. B. Chewing of nails is an indication that the game was close and pressure-packed.

6. B. It seems likely that this description is the prelude to a story about some of the people living in the Foothill Country.

7. D. The word is opposed to humor.

8. B. The author notes how this region combines the scenery of the mountains and prairies.

9. A. The author clearly feels strongly about the beauty of the Foothill Country.

10. D. The author indicates that the people of the Foothill Country live at the extremes of pleasure and pain.

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