Sitting for the SAT

Updated on: Tuesday, December 07, 2010

If you want to pursue your higher education in the USA, there is no way you can avoid the SAT. SAT is held six times in a year: May, June, October, November, December and January. Students who have completed their 12 years of school education successfully from any recognised Indian Board or university can take the SAT.

Here are a few simple guidelines that can help you attain a good SAT score.

* It is essential that you start studying well in time for the test. You should consider studying at least four months before the exam

* Reading newspapers, novels, watching English movies will prove to be quite beneficial. Make sure to check the dictionary for unfamiliar words

* You should try to incorporate the newly learned words into your every day use

* It is important to hone your writing skills for the writing section in the test. The easiest way is to maintain a diary

* Work on logic puzzles

Essay
The SAT examination begins with a 25-minute writing task: The essay. You have no choice of topic: you have to write on the prompt given in a text box. For example you may see something like:
Time has a doomsday book, on whose pages he is continually recording illustrious names. But as often as a new name is written there, an old one disappears. Only a few stand in illuminated characters never to be effaced.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Vocabulary
Questions 1-10 are antonyms. Find the word most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to the given word.

1. Whet is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Deaden B. Engender
C. Default D. Enhance
E. Desiccate

2. Obstreperous is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Placid B. Stubborn
C. Raucous D. Febrile
E. Amicable

3. Peripheral is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Astute B. Central
C. Concrete D. Axial
E. Radial

4. Ossified is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Durable
B. Dainty
C. Flexible
D. Contumacious E. Pragmatic

5. Disingenuous is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Transparent B. Parched
C. Blank D. Ingratiating
E. Clever

6. Dishevelled is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Crumpled B. Angelic
C. Fermented D. Demented
E. Ordered

7. Duplicitous is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Focused B. Jaundiced
C. Monomaniacal D. Straightforward
E. Approachable

8. Untoward is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Proactive B. Abstemious
C. Expected D. Egregious
E. Tortuous

9. Unequivocal is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Multifaceted B. Ambiguous
C. Unanimous D. Miniscule
E. Polemical

10. Enervating is most nearly opposite in meaning to
A. Idyllic B. Grandiose
C. Decorous D. Frustrating
E. Invigorating

Questions 11-20 are synonyms. Find the word most SIMILAR in meaning to the given word.

11. Unprepossessing is most similar in meaning to
A. Ugly B. Arrogant
C. Personable D. Didactic
E. Sumptuous

12. Turbid is most similar in meaning to
A. Shiny B. Murky
C. Pellucid D. Petrified
E. Agitated

13. Potable is most similar in meaning to
A. Bland B. Unsavory
C. Drinkable D. Fertile
E. Distilled

14. Flagrant is most similar in meaning to
A. Inauthentic B. Unperturbed
C. Slanderous D. Covert
E. Blatant

15. Undermine is most similar in meaning to
A. Impose B. Apprehend
C. Glorify D. Weaken
E. Tunnel

16. Tenuous is most similar in meaning to
A. Dark B. Playful
C. Weak D. Unfathomable
E. Direct

17. Parochial is most similar in meaning to
A. Cosmopolitan B. Xenophobic
C. Parsimonious D. Belligerent
E. Conventional

18. Destitute is most similar in meaning to
A. Impoverished B. Desolate
C. Affluent D. Meticulous
E. Derelict

19. Tacit is most similar in meaning to
A. Tenacious B. Ostensible
C. Garrulous D. Peaceful
E. Unspoken

20. Palliative is most similar in meaning to
A. Tyrannical B. Overt
C. Curative D. Festive
E. Restive

Questions 21-25 are sentence completions. Choose the answer which contains the words that best fit the blanks and complete the meaning of the given sentence.

21. Federer gave a ____ performance in the final; the spectators were treated to a display of his ____ abilities on the court.
A. stupendous - inconsolable
B. consummate - peerless
C. disappointing - incomparable
D. competent - waning
E. stellar - limited

22. The critics ____ remarks helped us to understand the implications of this ____ film, a film that was really ground-breaking in its approach.
A. instructive - pedestrian
B. polemical - provocative
C. pertinent - avant-garde
D. unwarranted - conservative
E. helpful - innocuous

23. The Chaplin films that she watched when young left a(n) ____ impression on Suzie, and she now has a ____ appetite for reading anything remotely related to Chaplin’s life and works.
A. overwhelming - blunted
B. forcible - terrible
C. negative - sharpened
D. indelible - voracious
E. evanescent - reduced

24. The lawyer was ____ for conduct that was in complete violation of legal procedures: he was found to have ____ a member of the jury.
A. reprimanded - observed
B. disbarred - suborned
C. expelled - questioned
D. commended - mislead
E. disqualified - rejected

25. The management had to admit to clandestine activities when the union leader was able to supply ____ evidence that an agitator had been planted among the members in order to ____ trouble and discredit the union.
A. egregious - avert
B. undeniable - mollify
C. circumstantial - prevent
D. unsubstantiated - instigate
E. incontrovertible - foment

Answers
1. A
2. A
3. B
4. C
5. A
6. E
7. D
8. C
9. B
10. E
11. A
12. B
13. C
14. E
15. D
16. C
17. B
18. A
19. E
20. C
21. B
22. C
23. D
24. B
25. E

Sitting for the SAT

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