FREE SAT Cross-Text Connections Questions and Answers 2

Question 1

Text 1
Literary critic Anya Sharma posits that the early 20th-century novelist H.T. Albright consciously used sparse, unadorned prose to mirror the bleak, post-industrial landscapes in which his characters lived. Sharma argues that Albright’s stylistic choice was a deliberate political statement, forcing the reader to confront the stark realities of his era without the comfort of descriptive embellishment. This minimalism, she concludes, is the primary vehicle for his social critique.

Text 2
Biographer Lin Chen’s analysis of H.T. Albright’s personal letters and journals reveals an author obsessed with musical theory. Chen notes that Albright structured his novels based on principles of minimalist composers, viewing sentence fragments and repetitive phrases as literary analogs to musical motifs. Albright’s private writings frequently mention his desire to achieve a “rhythmic, resonant silence” in his prose, with social commentary being a secondary, if not incidental, outcome of his formal experiments.

Based on the texts, how would Lin Chen (Text 2) most likely respond to Anya Sharma’s (Text 1) conclusion about Albright's minimalism?

Accepted Answer

By agreeing that Albright’s minimalism serves as a social critique but arguing that this was not its primary intended purpose.

Answer

Chen's argument in Text 2 is that Albright's primary motivation for minimalism was aesthetic and based on musical theory, with social commentary being a 'secondary' or 'incidental' outcome. This doesn't deny the effect Sharma observes (the social critique) but re-contextualizes its origin. Therefore, Chen would agree that the critique exists but disagree that it was the main goal, making the first option the most accurate and nuanced description of the relationship.

Question 2

Text 1
In astrophysics, the 'core accretion' model has long been the dominant theory for gas giant formation. It posits that large planets form sequentially: first, a solid core of rock and ice coalesces, and once this core reaches a critical mass—about 10 times that of Earth—its gravitational pull becomes strong enough to rapidly attract a massive gaseous envelope from the surrounding protoplanetary disk.

Text 2
Recent observations of the exoplanet HD 106906 b challenge conventional planetary formation models. This gas giant is thirteen times the mass of Jupiter and orbits its binary star at a distance over 700 times that of Earth from the Sun. At such a great distance, the protoplanetary disk would have been too sparse for a core to grow massive enough in a reasonable timeframe. This suggests that some gas giants may form via 'disk instability,' a rapid, direct collapse of a dense clump of gas and dust.

Which choice best describes the relationship between the two texts?

Accepted Answer

Text 2 presents a finding that cannot be fully explained by the theory outlined in Text 1.

Answer

Text 1 describes the 'core accretion' model as the dominant theory. Text 2 introduces an exoplanet whose characteristics (great distance from its star) make the core accretion model unlikely. It then proposes an alternative model ('disk instability') that could explain this specific case. Text 2 doesn't claim to disprove core accretion entirely, but it presents a case that the theory cannot account for, thus showing its limitations. This aligns perfectly with the idea that the finding in Text 2 cannot be *fully explained* by the theory in Text 1.

Question 3

Text 1
Ethologist Konrad Lorenz proposed that animal altruism is largely an illusion driven by 'species preservation' instincts. A bird that gives a warning call upon seeing a predator, for instance, seems to act selflessly. However, Lorenz argued that this act is a hardwired behavior that, by protecting the bird’s relatives who share its genes, ultimately serves to perpetuate its own genetic lineage. The act is therefore not a conscious choice but an instinctual, genetically selfish mechanism.

Text 2
Primatologist Frans de Waal's research on chimpanzees suggests a more complex picture. He documented instances where chimps aided non-relatives in distress, even when no immediate benefit to themselves or their kin was apparent. De Waal posits that such actions are rooted in genuine empathy, a cognitive and emotional capacity to understand and respond to another's state. He argues this is a 'bottom-up' form of morality, not merely a top-down instinctual command.

On which of the following points would the authors of both texts most likely AGREE?

Accepted Answer

That an animal's seemingly selfless behavior may not be motivated by conscious, human-like intentions.

Answer

Lorenz (Text 1) argues altruism is an instinctual, 'genetically selfish mechanism,' not a conscious choice. De Waal (Text 2) attributes it to empathy, a 'cognitive and emotional capacity,' but still a 'bottom-up' process, distinct from reasoned, human-like moral calculation. Both perspectives, despite their differences, frame the behavior as stemming from something other than conscious, deliberate selflessness in the human sense. Lorenz calls it instinct, and de Waal calls it empathy, but neither argues the animal is making a calculated, moral decision as a human might. This is the most reasonable point of agreement.

Question 4

Text 1
A prevailing view in developmental psychology is that the acquisition of 'theory of mind'—the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others—is a universal milestone reached around age four. Proponents of this view cite cross-cultural studies in which children from diverse societies consistently pass false-belief tests at this age. This consistency is taken as evidence of a maturational, hardwired process that unfolds on a predictable biological schedule.

Text 2
Anthropologist Lira Vygotsky’s research in communities with different narrative traditions complicates the universalist view of theory of mind. She found that children in cultures that place less emphasis on analyzing internal states in their storytelling pass false-belief tests, on average, a year or two later than their counterparts in Western cultures. This suggests that the *timing* of this cognitive development is not merely biological but is significantly scaffolded by culturally specific linguistic and narrative practices.

How would Vygotsky (Text 2) most likely characterize the 'evidence' presented in Text 1?

Accepted Answer

As accurate but incomplete, because it overlooks the role of cultural practices in the developmental timeline.

Answer

Vygotsky's research in Text 2 does not refute the idea that children eventually acquire theory of mind or that the false-belief test is a valid measure. Instead, her work challenges the idea that the timing is universal and purely biological. She argues that cultural factors influence *when* this milestone is reached. Therefore, she would view the evidence in Text 1 as 'accurate' in its observation that children do pass these tests, but 'incomplete' because it fails to account for the cultural variations in the timeline that her own research uncovered.

Question 5

Text 1
The 'Great Man' theory of history, popular in the 19th century, posits that historical change is driven by the actions of influential individuals, or 'heroes.' According to this view, pivotal moments like inventions, political reforms, or military victories can be attributed to the singular vision, charisma, and will of figures like Napoleon or Edison. The broader social or economic context is seen as merely the stage on which these great individuals act.

Text 2
Leo Tolstoy’s novel *War and Peace* is a sprawling literary critique of the 'Great Man' theory. Tolstoy meticulously illustrates how the Napoleonic Wars were shaped by a chaotic web of countless small, individual choices, chance events, and inexorable social currents. He argues that figures like Napoleon are not the authors of history but are merely 'history's slaves,' riding the crest of a wave they neither created nor controlled. For Tolstoy, history is the sum of infinitesimal, unknowable forces.

How would Tolstoy (Text 2) most likely describe the 'great individuals' mentioned in Text 1?

Accepted Answer

As figures who are notable for their position but have little actual control over the course of events.

Answer

Text 2 explicitly states that Tolstoy views figures like Napoleon as 'history's slaves' who ride a wave they 'neither created nor controlled.' This directly supports the idea that while these individuals are in a notable position (e.g., as generals or emperors), their actual agency and control over the grand sweep of history are minimal. They are products of historical forces, not their creators. This choice perfectly captures Tolstoy's perspective on the role of such figures.

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FREE SAT Cross-Text Connections Questions and Answers 2