SAT Barrons Dt Reading Part 1

The following passage is taken from Barchester Towers, Anthony Trollope's novel set in the fictional cathedral town of Barchester, to which the family of Dr. Stanhope, a clergyman newly assigned to the cathedral, has just moved.               The great family characteristic of the                                       Stanhopes might probably be said to be      heartlessness, but this want of feeling was,                                         in most of them, accompanied by so great                                   (5) an amount of good nature as to make itself                                     but little noticeable to the world. They were                                    so prone to oblige their neighbors that their                            neighbors failed to perceived how indifferent                                to them was the happiness and well-being                                (10) of those around them. The Stanhopes would                               visit you in your sickness (provided it were                                      not contagious), would bring you oranges,                                 French novels, and the last new bit of scandal,                             and then hear of your death or your recovery                          (15) with an equally indifferent composure. Their                              conduct to each other was the same as to the                              world; they bore and forbore; and there was                              sometimes, as will be seen, much necessity for                            forbearing; but their love among themselves                            (20) rarely reached above this. It is astonishing                                    how much each of the family was able to do,                                  and how much each did, to prevent the well-                              being of the other four.                                                                                 (The elder daughter) Charlotte Stanhope                                    (25) was at this time about thirty-five years old;                                                    and, whatever may have been her faults,                                          she had none of those that belong to old                                   young ladies. She neither dressed young, nor                                  talked young, nor indeed looked young. She                              (30) appeared to be perfectly content with her                                    time of life, and in no way affected the graces                                of youth. She was a fine young woman; and                                had she been a man, would have been a fine                                  young man. All that was done in the house,                                (35) and was not done by servants, was done by                                her. She gave the orders, paid the bills, hired                                    and dismissed the domestics, made the tea,                              carved the meat, and managed everything                                        in the Stanhope household. She, and she                                      (40) alone, could ever induce her father to look        into the state of his worldly concerns. She,       and she alone, could in any degree control       the absurdities of her sister. She, and she alone,       prevented the whole family from falling into (45) utter disrepute and beggary. It was by her        advice that they now found themselves very         unpleasantly situated in Barchester.                   So far, the character of Charlotte Stanhope        is not unprepossessing. But it remains to be   (50) said, that the influence that she had in her        family, though it had been used to a certain       extent for their worldly well-being, had not       been used to their real benefit, as it might       have been. She had aided her father in  (55) his indifference to his professional duties,        counseling him that his livings were as much        his individual property as the estates of his        elder brother were the property of that worthy        peer. She had for years past stifled every (60) little rising wish for a return to England that        the reverend doctor had from time to time       expressed. She had encouraged her mother       in her idleness in order that she herself might      be mistress and manager of the Stanhope (65) household. She had encouraged and fostered      the follies of her sister, though she was always      willing, and often able, to protect her from      their probable result. She had done her best,      and had thoroughly succeeded in spoiling (70) her brother, and turning him loose upon the      world an idle man without a profession, and      without a shilling that he could call his own.                 Miss Stanhope was a clever woman, able to      talk on most subjects, and quite indifferent as (75) to what the subject was. She prided herself on      her freedom from English prejudice, and she       might have added, from feminine delicacy. On      religion she was a pure freethinker, and with      much want of true affection, delighted to  (80) throw out her own views before the troubled        mind of her father. To have shaken what       remained of his Church of England faith would       have gratified her much; but the idea of his        abandoning his preferment in the church had (85) never once presented itself to her mind. How       could he indeed, when he had no income       from any other source? Questions preview to keep in mind as you read: Remember that on the actual test, you will be able to answer questions in any order you like, and you will be able to annotate the passage as well. Here, unfortunately, there is no back button, so please answer questions in order. Thank you. 1. The main purpose of the passage is to... 2. As used in line 3, "want" most nearly means ... 3. In lines 10-15 ("The Stanhopes would visit ... indifferent composure"), what is the most likely reason the author inserts the parenthetic comment "(provided it were not contagious)"? 4. According to the opening paragraph, the Stanhopes' behavior to members of their family ... 5. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question? 6. The tone of the passage is best described as ... 7. On the basis of the passage, which of the following statements about Dr. Stanhope can most reasonably be made? 8. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question? 9. The narrator indicates that the effect of Charlotte's influence on her brother's upbringing was his becoming ... 10. As used in line 78, "pure" most nearly means ... 11. The passage suggests that Charlotte possesses all of the following characteristics EXCEPT ...

The main purpose of the passage is to

As used in line 3, “want” most nearly means

In lines 10-15 (“The Stanhope would visit...indifferent composure”), what is the most likely reason the author inserts parenthetic comment “(provided it were not contagious)”?

According to the opening paragraph, the Stanhopes’ behavior to members of their family 

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

The tone of the passage is best described as 

On the basis of the passage, which of the following statements about Dr. Stanhope can most reasonably be made?

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

The narrator indicates that the effect of Charlotte’s influence on her brother’s upbringing was his becoming

As used in line 78, “pure” most nearly means

The passage suggests that Charlotte possesses all of the following characteristics EXCEPT

The purpose of sequential or serial grinding was to enable paleontologists to 

Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

As used in line 30, "stubbornly" most nearly means

The author indicates that, in comparison to serial grinding, modern methods of fossil analysis have tended to be

As used in line 48, "coax out" most nearly means

In making the assertion that "the discoveries are more than just pretty pictures," the author is attempting to

The table contains information useful to answer all of the following questions EXCEPT

Based on the table, which method of high-resolution scanning would be most appropriate for use by a paleontologist in need of speedy results?

The results of Cunnigham's study of rocks from the Doushantuo formation in China can best be described as