CHAPTER 4 / CRITICAL READING SKILLS 187
Answer Key 4:Simplifying the Passage
imagine watching a documentary about those an-
imals as the “narrator” speaks.- What is the main idea of the paragraph? How does
it relate to the previous paragraph? How does it
support the central idea of the passage? - “Raising standards” can have many negative effects
like cheating, unfairness, and superficial learning. - Dadaism is not silly or irrelevant; it is the expres-
sion of life in the moment.
Concept Review 4
- Visualize the characters and the action in vivid
detail. Pay close attention to the conflict or problem
in the story. - Visualize a physical battle between the opposing
viewpoints in the argument. Imagine each rhetor-
ical device as a weapon against the enemy. - Visualize the subject matter as best you can. If it is
a historical analysis, try to visualize a map of the
region being discussed, and visualize the people in
dress of the times. If it is about animals, try to
SAT Practice 4
- A The passage compares mechanistic explana-
tions to teleological ones and explains why mech-
anistic ones are “more useful.” Choices (B), (C),
and (D) describe tasks that go far beyond what this
passage accomplishes, and choice (E) describes an
idea that is mentioned only in the last paragraph. - C “Teleological” explanations are those that
“describe causes and effects in terms of desires or
purposes.” Saying that a bird sings because it
“likes the sound” implies that the bird’s action is
caused by a desire. - E Socrates is said to “be far more likely to ask
you about your vehicle’s nature, or its desires, or
its soul than about how the engine worked.” This
underscores the author’s belief that Socrates
explained things in terms of their “purposes.”
4. B Socrates, the author tells us, would believe
that the SUV possessed a soul, so the “possessed
machine” is one with a living spirit and will.
5. A The fourth paragraph tells us that teleological
explanations “are convenient,” and goes on to ex-
plain why people continue to use them.
6. E The “possessed machine” in line 36 is the SUV
that Socrates would believe has a soul. The “mind-
less machines” of line 60 represent the conception
of human beings that many would have if
human behavior were explained “mechanisti-
cally,” thereby removing (they would think) our
free will and soul.