616 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT
8 8 888 8
- According to Passage 2, “one of the great ben-
efits of a language-wide spelling system” (lines
115–116) is that it
(A) simplifies commonly misspelled words
(B) discourages social distinctions implied
by pronunciation
(C) eliminates silent letters
(D) makes it easier to translate words from
English to other languages
(E) imposes a preferred dialect - Passage 2 mentions the word “eight” (line 122)
as an example of
(A) a word with a spelling that is edifying to
some
(B) a commonly mispronounced word
(C) a word with a spelling that the author
believes should be simplified
(D) a recently coined term
(E) a word that has remained unchanged for
centuries - The tone of the two passages differs in that
Passage 1 is
(A) jocular, whereas Passage 2 is logical
(B) cynical, whereas Passage 2 is whimsical
(C) analytical, whereas Passage 2 is
lighthearted
(D) scientific, whereas Passage 2 is satirical
(E) strident, whereas Passage 2 is reflective
17. With which of the following statements would
the authors of both passages most likely agree?
(A) The rules of English spelling need to be
changed.
(B) Modern conventions of grammar are il-
logical.
(C) Americans are lazy.
(D) Conventions of language are not easily
changed.
(E) Writers should read widely to perfect
their craft.
18. If the author of Passage 1 were serious about
his plan for reforming English pronunciation,
the author of Passage 2 would likely regard
that plan as
(A) a necessary addition to phonetic spelling
(B) a logical alternative to the current
system
(C) inferior to the plan for phonetic spelling
(D) unworkable because it disregards the
way that conventions of language
develop
(E) a more plausible plan than Serena’s
19. In both passages, the word “although” is
regarded as
(A) a word that is commonly
mispronounced
(B) a word that is difficult to spell
(C) an example of an idiosyncracy of English
that some consider problematic
(D) a word that reveals much about the de-
velopment of the English language
(E) a word that can easily be eliminated
from the English language
STOP
If you finish before time is called, you may
check your work on this section only. Do not
turn to any other section of the test.