SHSAT English Language Arts Quiz: Multi Detail Support
20 questions · exam conditions
0:00
Multi Detail SupportQuestion 1 of 20

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

Which statement is supported by two pieces of evidence from the passage regarding Lowell's initial design and location?

Lowell was founded far from any rivers to protect its mills from the risk of flooding during bad weather.
The city was established with a focus on agriculture, with industrial development happening much later.
Lowell's founders intentionally chose the location to harness water power and built an extensive canal system to run the mills.
The city was modeled after European industrial cities, using steam power to run its advanced machinery from the start.
← Back to quizzes

SHSAT English Language Arts Quiz

SHSAT English Language Arts Quiz: Multi Detail Support

Practice Multi Detail Support in SHSAT English Language Arts with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Multi Detail Support, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for SHSAT English Language Arts.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

Which statement is supported by two pieces of evidence from the passage regarding Lowell's initial design and location?

  1. Lowell was founded far from any rivers to protect its mills from the risk of flooding during bad weather.
  2. The city was established with a focus on agriculture, with industrial development happening much later.
  3. Lowell's founders intentionally chose the location to harness water power and built an extensive canal system to run the mills. (correct answer)
  4. The city was modeled after European industrial cities, using steam power to run its advanced machinery from the start.
Explanation: Multi-detail questions ask you to choose the statement that two or more separate details in the passage support, here about how Lowell was sited and built. The first detail is the choice of location: paragraph 2 says the founders chose the Merrimack River "to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls." The second is the canal system: "Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills". Paragraph 1 adds that Lowell won recognition for its "innovative canal and dam system". Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because paragraph 2 places the town directly "along Massachusetts's Merrimack River", and the passage never mentions flooding. Choice B is wrong because paragraph 1 says Lowell "quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city", and paragraph 2 shows the founders planning for water-powered mills from the start. Choice D is wrong because the passage never calls Lowell a copy of European cities or mentions steam; paragraph 2 says water from the canals powered the mills. The correct answer is C because paragraph 2 supports both the purposeful choice of a water-power site and the canal system that ran the mills. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that ask for two pieces of evidence, check that each part of a choice matches its own line in the passage before you select it.

Question 2

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Which statement about the community's response to the hunters' return is supported by at least two details from the passage?

  1. The community was only interested in the woman who returned, ignoring the hunters and their accomplishments.
  2. The community was angry with the hunters for being gone for two summers and for bringing a stranger back with them.
  3. The community celebrated the hunters' success while also showing great curiosity and concern for the mysterious woman with them. (correct answer)
  4. The community's leaders first interrogated the hunters about their journey before allowing them to enter the main camp.
Explanation: This question asks for the statement about the hunters' return that at least two details support. Paragraph 21 states, "Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success." The same paragraph adds, "But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity", followed by "Who was she? Where had she come from?" Their concern shows in paragraph 24: "For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger." Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because the people "rejoiced at their hunters' success", so they did not ignore the hunters. B is wrong because paragraph 14 says "It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season", and paragraph 22 shows the woman was no stranger: "She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago!" D is wrong because the hunters "rode up to the welcoming crowd" and "paraded around the encampment for all to see", with no questioning before entering. The correct answer is C because paragraphs 21 and 24 show both celebration of the hunters and curiosity and care for the woman. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that require two details, find evidence for each part of a choice; a correct answer with two parts needs support for both.

Question 3

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

Which statement best describes the changing workforce and social dynamics in Lowell, according to the passage?

  1. Lowell's workforce transitioned from predominantly Yankee women to diverse groups of immigrants who established distinct ethnic neighborhoods. (correct answer)
  2. The city maintained a homogenous workforce of Yankee women from its founding to the closure of its last mill.
  3. As new immigrant groups arrived, they quickly assimilated into one unified culture, eliminating all neighborhood distinctions.
  4. The original Yankee 'mill girls' left Lowell because of hostility from newly arriving Irish immigrants who took their jobs.
Explanation: Multi-detail questions ask you to choose the statement that the passage supports across several paragraphs, here how Lowell's workforce and neighborhoods changed. Paragraph 4 shows the shift in workers: Yankee women dominated until the 1840s, and when they left, "immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce." Paragraph 6 shows the social result: "the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood," such as the Irish 'New Dublin' and the French-Canadian 'Little Canada.' Looking at the incorrect options: Choice B is wrong because paragraphs 4 and 5 say Irish immigrants, followed by other groups, replaced the Yankee women in the 1840s. Choice C is wrong because paragraph 6 says each group kept "its own distinct neighborhood," which is the opposite of erasing neighborhood distinctions. Choice D is wrong because paragraph 4 says the women left over "wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays", and only then did immigrants replace them; the hostility in paragraph 5 came from the Protestant community toward the Irish. The correct answer is A because paragraphs 4 and 6 show the move from Yankee women to immigrant groups with their own neighborhoods. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about change over time, check each claim in a choice against the passage, since a choice can mix one accurate detail with an invented cause.

Question 4

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Which statement accurately describes the values of the Nee-mee-poo community as depicted in the passage?

  1. The community valued cooperation, where each member contributed to the group's welfare and successes were shared. (correct answer)
  2. The community valued individual achievement above all, with hunters keeping their rewards for themselves.
  3. The community valued strict hierarchies, where men hunted and women's work was considered less important.
  4. The community valued aggression and military strength, as shown by their immediate suspicion of all strangers.
Explanation: This question asks what the community valued, based on details across the passage. Paragraph 7 states, "Everyone helped in some way", and describes men fishing and hunting while women dug camas and picked berries. Paragraph 21 shows success was shared: "Good hunters brought good to everybody." The community valued cooperation, and each member's work served the group. Looking at the incorrect options: B is wrong because paragraph 21 says "Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success", and the meat and hides benefited "everybody." C is wrong because paragraph 6 presents the women's work as vital, since they "worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could" for the winter, alongside the men's hunting. D is wrong because paragraph 4 calls the gathering "a time of being friends together", and in paragraph 3 The People answer a stranger simply, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place." The correct answer is A because paragraphs 7 and 21 show that "Everyone helped in some way" and that "Good hunters brought good to everybody." Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about values, look for general statements the narrator makes, such as everyone or everybody, and pick the choice those statements support directly.

Question 5

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

How did the community treat the woman who returned with the hunters?

  1. They were suspicious of her and questioned her intensely before allowing her to join the camp.
  2. They were indifferent to her, focusing instead on the meat and hides brought back by the hunters.
  3. They forced her to tell her story immediately upon her arrival to prove her identity to the elders.
  4. They offered her comfort and care, tending to her needs until she recovered her strength. (correct answer)
Explanation: This question asks how the community treated the woman, based on several details. Paragraph 24 describes their care: "Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest." It continues, "For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger." They comforted her and tended to her until she recovered. Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because paragraph 22 shows the people recognized her as "the daughter of the family gone so long ago", and the women welcomed her by calling out her new name in paragraph 23. B is wrong because paragraph 21 says that "the sight of the frail figure of the woman" was what "aroused their curiosity", more than the meat and hides. C is wrong because paragraph 25 says "One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear", which comes after "many suns" of care, not upon her arrival. The correct answer is D because paragraph 24 shows the women fed her, gave her a place to rest, and "cared for her until she became stronger." Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about how characters treat someone, look for action verbs, such as lifted, brought, and cared, which reveal attitudes more reliably than a single word of description.

Question 6

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Based on the passage, what can be inferred about the hunters who returned to the camp?

  1. They were unsuccessful and returned empty-handed, disappointing the people of their village.
  2. They were skilled and successful, taking pride in their accomplishments and their ability to provide for the community. (correct answer)
  3. They were strangers from a rival band who had captured one of the Red Bear people's women.
  4. They were young and inexperienced, having been gone for only a few days on their first hunt.
Explanation: This question asks what you can infer about the hunters from details in the passage. Paragraph 20 says the hunters were "proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt" and paraded so all could see "how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were." Paragraph 21 adds, "Good hunters brought good to everybody." The hunters were skilled, successful, and proud of what they brought home. Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because the hunters returned with "loads of meat, hides, and other trophies", and "Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success." C is wrong because the people cry "they are our four hunters!" in paragraph 18, and paragraph 22 identifies the woman as "the daughter of the family gone so long ago". D is wrong because paragraph 13 says the four hunters "had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past", not just a few days earlier. The correct answer is B because paragraphs 20 and 21 show the hunters' pride and the good their success brought to everyone. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that ask for an inference, choose the answer that several details point to, and eliminate any choice that a specific number or fact in the passage contradicts.

Question 7

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Which statement about the Nee-mee-poo's relationship with their homeland is supported by at least two details from the passage?

  1. The Nee-mee-poo were a nomadic people who roamed widely and rarely returned to the same location.
  2. The Nee-mee-poo frequently fought with neighboring groups over the territory where they gathered for the harvest.
  3. The Nee-mee-poo had a deep, multi-generational connection to their land and identified themselves by their presence there. (correct answer)
  4. The Nee-mee-poo considered the Oyaip Prairie a sacred place used only for religious ceremonies, not for living.
Explanation: This question asks for the statement about the Nee-mee-poo and their homeland that at least two details support. Paragraph 3 shows they name themselves by their land: "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place." Paragraph 5 shows the connection spans generations: "As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them." Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because, although paragraph 6 says Red Bear's people "had traveled all summer with neighboring bands," paragraph 5 shows they return to "the same locations" every year. B is wrong because paragraph 4 calls the gathering "a time of being friends together", and paragraph 5 says their neighbors "had their camp close by." D is wrong because paragraph 1 says they gathered "for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest", and paragraph 5 describes tepees and brush shelters there. The correct answer is C because paragraphs 3 and 5 tie their identity and camping customs to the same land across generations. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that need two details, check that each detail supports the whole claim, and watch for a choice that stretches one detail, such as traveling, into something the passage contradicts.

Question 8

Excerpt from "Winter Wheat" by Mildred Walker

(1) I love Dad's way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers. He's lived here twenty-three years, but he still says "back East where I come from." He's the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we're both reading, but it's what Mom says that I depend on. When Mom used to say "Don't worry" about my pet chicken or dog or new calf, it always got well. Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning.

(2) Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen. She carried in the freshly ironed clothes. Dad went back to his paper. When Mom came back she took beans from the cupboard to soak for tomorrow. Dad always said Mom could make all the dishes he'd had back in Vermont as well as though she were a New Englander herself, instead of a Russian. All of a sudden, I realized that tomorrow when those beans would be ready to eat I'd be going away. It gave me a funny feeling.

(3) "I'll be taking the train tomorrow night," I said aloud, more to hear it myself.

(4) "We can drive you into town in the afternoon," Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.

(5) "There's no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well. We haven't nothing to take us into town for," Mom said.

(6) "Well, we don't have to decide tonight," Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City. It wouldn't be so flat as just seeing me go off on the train from Gotham. My going away was hard on both of them; they were so different—and I was part of them both. It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them.

(7) While I was getting ready for bed in my room that's off the front room, I saw how it would be if I left from town. We'd go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another. Dad would probably have his hair cut at the barbershop and stop in the bank and meet someone he knew to talk to. Then we'd meet at the big store on the corner and go to the cafeteria for supper. The train stops ten minutes or so at the station in town and there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat. We went to the station in Clark City to see the Goodals off when they went back to Iowa.

(8) If I left from Gotham, we'd just drive down in the truck and wait till the train came. It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away.

(9) I sat on the bed in my pyjamas with my arms around my knees. I couldn't keep from thinking of that time Dad went back East. I tried to, and then I just sat still and looked straight at it. Sometimes that's better than working so hard to keep from looking at what's in your mind.

(10) Dad went all the way back to Vermont. ... It was in November and it was already dark when the train came through Gotham. Even now, I could feel how cold and dark it was. I held Mom's hand. Dad was so dressed-up he seemed strange.... We stood there without saying anything until Dad told Mom to remember to call Mr. Bardich, our neighbor, if the cow didn't calve tomorrow.

(11) "I'll manage," Mom snapped back.

(12) "I wish you could go, Anna," Dad said to Mom, "and we could take Ellen." ...

(13) "Good-by, Anna Petrovna," he said, looking at Mom. I had never heard him call her by two names before.

(14) "Good-by," Mom said, standing still, without smiling.

(15) Then he was gone and the crossroads were darker than ever. The train light shone on the high window in the top of the grain elevator for a moment and then that too was dark. We got into our old Ford and Mom drove back to the house. My throat ached all the way. The name Dad had called Mom kept saying itself in my ears: "Anna Petrovna, Anna Petrovna." ...

(16) Our house seemed lonely when we came back to it. It seemed to be hiding under the coulee. I went with Mom to put the truck in the barn that was bigger than the house. I think Mom was prouder of our barn than the house, anyway. We walked back to look at the cow that was going to calve. She was just a big light blob in the dark, waiting. I had thought she was exciting this morning, but now she seemed sad, too.

(17) The wind blew when we walked across the open space to the house and I couldn't help shivering with the cold. Inside the house it was warm, but empty.

(18) "Bring your nightgown in here and I heat you some milk," Mom said.

(19) I drank the milk sitting on a stool in front of the stove. It tasted good, but the lonely ache in my throat was still there. I picked up my clothes and hung them neatly behind the stove and put my cup on the sink board. Mom was fixing oatmeal for tomorrow morning.

(20) "Good night, Mom," I said almost timidly, standing beside her. She seemed wrapped around in a kind of strangeness. Then she turned around and drew me to her. The front of her dress was warm from the stove. I felt the comfortable heat through my gown. She laid her hand against my face and it felt rough and hard but firm. I dared ask her something I wanted to know.

(21) "Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?"

(22) Her voice sounded surprised. "Why, Yelena, you know that; Anna Petrovna. You know I am born in Russia, in Seletskoe."

(23) "Yes, but I didn't know your other name," I said.

(24) "Anna Petrovna Webb." She pronounced it slowly. "Once I think what a funny name Ben Webb is!" She laughed. Her laugh was warm and low like our kitchen, and comfortable. The house seemed natural and right again....

(25) But now that I am grown, I feel the wall of strangeness between them, more than when I was a child. I wondered how they would get along without me.

Which statement accurately describes the narrator's parents based on details provided in the passage?

  1. Both parents are practical and focused on the present, showing little interest in the past or future.
  2. The narrator's parents are quiet and reserved, rarely expressing their thoughts or feelings about the future.
  3. Both parents are equally excited about the narrator leaving home and want to celebrate the occasion in town.
  4. The narrator's parents have opposing outlooks on life, with her father being a dreamer and her mother being grounded in daily realities. (correct answer)
Explanation: This question asks you to describe both parents using details from the passage. Paragraph 1 states the contrast directly: "Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning." Dad also still says "back East where I come from", while Mom's attention stays on daily work, such as beans "to soak for tomorrow" (paragraph 2). In paragraph 6 the narrator sums it up: "they were so different". Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because only Mom is focused on the present; Dad keeps talking about going somewhere "next year, maybe." B is wrong because both parents speak up about the departure in paragraphs 4 and 5, and Dad openly talks about future plans. C is wrong because Mom says "There's no need to go to town" (paragraph 5), and the narrator says "My going away was hard on both of them" (paragraph 6). The correct answer is D because the passage shows Dad as a dreamer and Mom as grounded in everyday life. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about two characters, eliminate any choice that says "both" when the passage shows the characters differing.

Question 9

Excerpt from "Winter Wheat" by Mildred Walker

(1) I love Dad's way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers. He's lived here twenty-three years, but he still says "back East where I come from." He's the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we're both reading, but it's what Mom says that I depend on. When Mom used to say "Don't worry" about my pet chicken or dog or new calf, it always got well. Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning.

(2) Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen. She carried in the freshly ironed clothes. Dad went back to his paper. When Mom came back she took beans from the cupboard to soak for tomorrow. Dad always said Mom could make all the dishes he'd had back in Vermont as well as though she were a New Englander herself, instead of a Russian. All of a sudden, I realized that tomorrow when those beans would be ready to eat I'd be going away. It gave me a funny feeling.

(3) "I'll be taking the train tomorrow night," I said aloud, more to hear it myself.

(4) "We can drive you into town in the afternoon," Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.

(5) "There's no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well. We haven't nothing to take us into town for," Mom said.

(6) "Well, we don't have to decide tonight," Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City. It wouldn't be so flat as just seeing me go off on the train from Gotham. My going away was hard on both of them; they were so different—and I was part of them both. It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them.

(7) While I was getting ready for bed in my room that's off the front room, I saw how it would be if I left from town. We'd go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another. Dad would probably have his hair cut at the barbershop and stop in the bank and meet someone he knew to talk to. Then we'd meet at the big store on the corner and go to the cafeteria for supper. The train stops ten minutes or so at the station in town and there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat. We went to the station in Clark City to see the Goodals off when they went back to Iowa.

(8) If I left from Gotham, we'd just drive down in the truck and wait till the train came. It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away.

(9) I sat on the bed in my pyjamas with my arms around my knees. I couldn't keep from thinking of that time Dad went back East. I tried to, and then I just sat still and looked straight at it. Sometimes that's better than working so hard to keep from looking at what's in your mind.

(10) Dad went all the way back to Vermont. ... It was in November and it was already dark when the train came through Gotham. Even now, I could feel how cold and dark it was. I held Mom's hand. Dad was so dressed-up he seemed strange.... We stood there without saying anything until Dad told Mom to remember to call Mr. Bardich, our neighbor, if the cow didn't calve tomorrow.

(11) "I'll manage," Mom snapped back.

(12) "I wish you could go, Anna," Dad said to Mom, "and we could take Ellen." ...

(13) "Good-by, Anna Petrovna," he said, looking at Mom. I had never heard him call her by two names before.

(14) "Good-by," Mom said, standing still, without smiling.

(15) Then he was gone and the crossroads were darker than ever. The train light shone on the high window in the top of the grain elevator for a moment and then that too was dark. We got into our old Ford and Mom drove back to the house. My throat ached all the way. The name Dad had called Mom kept saying itself in my ears: "Anna Petrovna, Anna Petrovna." ...

(16) Our house seemed lonely when we came back to it. It seemed to be hiding under the coulee. I went with Mom to put the truck in the barn that was bigger than the house. I think Mom was prouder of our barn than the house, anyway. We walked back to look at the cow that was going to calve. She was just a big light blob in the dark, waiting. I had thought she was exciting this morning, but now she seemed sad, too.

(17) The wind blew when we walked across the open space to the house and I couldn't help shivering with the cold. Inside the house it was warm, but empty.

(18) "Bring your nightgown in here and I heat you some milk," Mom said.

(19) I drank the milk sitting on a stool in front of the stove. It tasted good, but the lonely ache in my throat was still there. I picked up my clothes and hung them neatly behind the stove and put my cup on the sink board. Mom was fixing oatmeal for tomorrow morning.

(20) "Good night, Mom," I said almost timidly, standing beside her. She seemed wrapped around in a kind of strangeness. Then she turned around and drew me to her. The front of her dress was warm from the stove. I felt the comfortable heat through my gown. She laid her hand against my face and it felt rough and hard but firm. I dared ask her something I wanted to know.

(21) "Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?"

(22) Her voice sounded surprised. "Why, Yelena, you know that; Anna Petrovna. You know I am born in Russia, in Seletskoe."

(23) "Yes, but I didn't know your other name," I said.

(24) "Anna Petrovna Webb." She pronounced it slowly. "Once I think what a funny name Ben Webb is!" She laughed. Her laugh was warm and low like our kitchen, and comfortable. The house seemed natural and right again....

(25) But now that I am grown, I feel the wall of strangeness between them, more than when I was a child. I wondered how they would get along without me.

Which statement best describes the narrator's feelings about her departure?

  1. She is purely excited about the adventure of leaving home and feels no sadness about the change.
  2. She is indifferent to her parents' feelings and focuses only on the logistics of catching the train.
  3. She feels a mixture of anticipation about her journey and discomfort about leaving her parents alone. (correct answer)
  4. She is resentful that her parents are making her departure more difficult by disagreeing on the plans.
Explanation: This question asks you to describe the narrator's feelings using evidence from several parts of the passage. The narrator looks forward to leaving. In paragraph 3 she announces her plans "more to hear it myself", and in paragraph 7 she imagines having "time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat", hoping to "taste the flavor of going away" (paragraph 8). She also feels uneasy. Realizing she is leaving "gave me a funny feeling" (paragraph 2), "It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them" (paragraph 6), and "I wondered how they would get along without me" (paragraph 25). Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because paragraph 6 shows sadness and unease: "It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them." B is wrong because she notices her parents' feelings: "My going away was hard on both of them". D is wrong because she responds to their disagreement with understanding, not resentment: "they were so different—and I was part of them both." The correct answer is C because the passage shows both her anticipation of the trip and her discomfort at leaving her parents. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about feelings, a choice with absolute words like "purely" or "only" is often wrong when the passage shows mixed emotions.

Question 10

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

Which statement accurately reflects Lowell's status as a destination, according to the passage?

  1. The city became a destination for both laborers seeking employment and tourists interested in its industrial innovation. (correct answer)
  2. Lowell was exclusively a place of work, with few visitors who were not employed by the textile mills.
  3. Lowell was primarily a tourist destination famous for its natural scenery along the Merrimack River.
  4. Only European tourists visited Lowell, as Americans were not interested in the city's industrial development.
Explanation: Multi-detail questions ask you to find the statement the passage supports with more than one detail, here why people came to Lowell. Paragraph 1 names both kinds of arrivals in one sentence: "Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination." The same paragraph describes a Scottish traveler who remembered Lowell as "the glory" of "American industry." Looking at the incorrect options: Choice B is wrong because paragraph 1 says European tourists came to "visit the industrious city", so Lowell was not exclusively a place of work. Choice C is wrong because the visitors in paragraph 1 came for the industrious city, and paragraph 2 presents the Merrimack River as a power source, not as scenery. Choice D is wrong because the passage never says Americans lacked interest in Lowell or that Europeans were its only visitors, and today the park "welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell". The correct answer is A because paragraph 1 shows people coming both to work in the mills and to visit the industrial city. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions, be wary of choices with absolute words such as exclusively or only; one example in the passage that breaks the rule is enough to eliminate them.

Question 11

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian" by Hilary Wilson

(1) In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.

(2) Hieroglyphs—"the Words of God"—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.

(3) Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed "Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands," and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background...

(4) But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments ... family or household servants delivered the students' food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family's income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe's craft. This limited the scope for employment but such "on the job" training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning....

(5) Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors' corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.

(6) A schoolboy "dictionary" of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, "be a scribe" was the best of career advice.

Which statement best describes the opportunities that a scribal education provided, based on information in the passage?

  1. A scribal education guaranteed a path to becoming a pharaoh, as demonstrated by the career of Horemheb.
  2. The primary benefit of a scribal education was learning artistic skills to create beautifully illustrated funerary texts.
  3. Scribal training was mainly a way for boys from poor families to earn a steady income as filing clerks or land agents.
  4. Training as a scribe offered a route to social advancement and access to a variety of specialized, respected professions. (correct answer)
Explanation: This question asks you to describe the opportunities of a scribal education using details from across the passage. Paragraph 3 says "no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything," and calls Horemheb "a good example." Paragraph 6 lists careers "such as those of government official, priest or lawyer," and adds that "Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects." Doctors also appear in paragraph 6. Scribal training opened the way to advancement and many respected professions. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because of the word "guaranteed"; paragraph 3 says an educated Egyptian "could achieve almost anything," which is a possibility, not a promise of the throne. Choice B is wrong because illustrating funerary texts was one path for "Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills," not the main benefit of training. Choice C is wrong because paragraph 4 names "the local clerk or land agent" as teachers for apprentices, and paragraph 6 shows scribes reaching many careers beyond clerk work. The correct answer is D because paragraphs 3 and 6 show that scribal education led to social advancement and a range of specialized professions. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions, eliminate choices with extreme words such as "guaranteed" or "primary" when the passage describes many possibilities.

Question 12

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian" by Hilary Wilson

(1) In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.

(2) Hieroglyphs—"the Words of God"—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.

(3) Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed "Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands," and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background...

(4) But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments ... family or household servants delivered the students' food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family's income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe's craft. This limited the scope for employment but such "on the job" training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning....

(5) Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors' corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.

(6) A schoolboy "dictionary" of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, "be a scribe" was the best of career advice.

Based on the passage, what can be concluded about the curriculum and training methods in scribal schools?

  1. The main goal of scribal schools was to teach moral lessons, with handwriting practice being a secondary concern.
  2. The curriculum was primarily theoretical, emphasizing the memorization of over a thousand hieroglyphic signs for religious texts.
  3. Students were only taught hieratic script and were forbidden from learning hieroglyphs until they became master scribes.
  4. Scribal education was highly practical, focusing on skills like copying documents and administrative tasks such as list-making. (correct answer)
Explanation: This question asks you to draw a conclusion from several details about how scribes were trained. Paragraph 5 says "Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts." Paragraph 6 adds that "Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling" prepared scribes for "the making and updating of lists." Both details show a practical, job-focused education. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because paragraph 5 says students practiced handwriting "while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts," so the advice came alongside the handwriting practice rather than as the main goal. Choice B is wrong because paragraph 6 says "more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes," and only scribes who trained for "several more years" reached a thousand or more signs. Choice C is wrong because paragraph 5 says the lowliest scribes "probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script," so students did learn some hieroglyphs. The correct answer is D because paragraphs 5 and 6 describe copying documents and learning record-keeping and list-making. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that ask for a conclusion, choose the answer that sums up several details, and reject choices with absolute words such as "only" or "forbidden" unless the passage states them.

Question 13

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

What were the primary causes of the decline of Lowell's textile industry, according to the passage?

  1. The city's mills were destroyed in a series of fires, and the Great Potato Famine caused a severe labor shortage.
  2. The 'mill girls' successfully organized strikes that bankrupted the mill owners and forced the factories to close.
  3. The industry failed because its technology became obsolete and the companies no longer invested in maintaining their facilities. (correct answer)
  4. The Merrimack River dried up, eliminating the power source for the mills, and all the workers moved to other cities.
Explanation: Multi-detail questions ask you to choose the statement that captures each cause the passage gives, here why Lowell's textile industry declined. Paragraph 6 gives two causes. First, "Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities". Second, "working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills." Together these match outdated technology and a lack of investment. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because the passage never mentions fires, and paragraph 5 says the famine brought workers to Lowell, since "Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time". Choice B is wrong because paragraph 4 says that "When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell," and immigrants replaced them, so the strikes did not shut the mills. Choice D is wrong because the passage never says the Merrimack River dried up; paragraph 6 explains the closings by the mills' inability to compete. The correct answer is C because paragraph 6 names outdated mills and the companies' failure to reinvest as the causes of the decline. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about causes, find the sentence that uses cause words such as after or as, and match each cause it names to a part of the answer choice.

Question 14

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian" by Hilary Wilson

(1) In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.

(2) Hieroglyphs—"the Words of God"—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.

(3) Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed "Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands," and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background...

(4) But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments ... family or household servants delivered the students' food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family's income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe's craft. This limited the scope for employment but such "on the job" training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning....

(5) Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors' corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.

(6) A schoolboy "dictionary" of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, "be a scribe" was the best of career advice.

Which statement is supported by at least two pieces of evidence from the passage about the Egyptian writing systems?

  1. Only the most elite scribes, such as those who became government officials, were permitted to learn the hieroglyphic script.
  2. Hieratic script was a more efficient and practical form of writing for daily administrative tasks than the more formal hieroglyphs. (correct answer)
  3. The hieroglyphic system, with its thousand distinct characters, was eventually replaced by the simpler hieratic script for all purposes.
  4. Student scribes primarily focused on learning hieroglyphs for temple walls, as this was the most prestigious form of writing.
Explanation: This question asks you to find the statement backed by at least two separate details from the passage. Paragraph 1 says scribes relied on "the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy." Paragraph 2 adds that hieratic "was quicker to write and more economical of space," while hieroglyphs were used "in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls." Together these show hieratic was the efficient, practical script for daily administrative work. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because paragraph 5 says even "The lowliest scribes" learned "the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script," so hieroglyphs were not limited to elite scribes. Choice C is wrong because paragraph 2 says "The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years," so hieratic did not replace hieroglyphs for all purposes. Choice D is wrong because paragraph 5 says "Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script," not with hieroglyphs for temple walls. The correct answer is B because paragraphs 1 and 2 both present hieratic as the simpler, quicker script for everyday documents. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions asking for two pieces of evidence, find two separate sentences that each support a choice; if you find only one, or a sentence contradicts it, eliminate that choice.

Question 15

Massachusetts: Lowell National Historical Park

(1) During the first half of the 19th century, Lowell, Massachusetts, quickly transformed itself from a farm town to a bustling industrial city. In time, Lowell became a model of industry, gaining global recognition for its state-of-the-art technology, innovative canal and dam system, mill architecture, boardinghouses, churches, and ethnic neighborhoods. Young Yankee women, immigrant families, and European tourists all flocked to Lowell to find work at one of the many textile mills, or visit the industrious city that was becoming a popular tourist destination. As one Scottish traveler observed during his visit to America, "Niagara and Lowell are the two objects I will longest remember in my American journey, the one the glory of American scenery, the other of American industry." Today, Lowell National Historical Park welcomes visitors to enjoy the sights of Lowell and learn about the history of one of America's most significant industrial cities.

(2) The Boston merchants who founded Lowell in 1821 and named it after Francis Cabot Lowell chose to locate the town along Massachusetts's Merrimack River to take advantage of the kinetic energy offered by the Pawtucket waterfalls. Over six miles of canals powered the waterwheels of Lowell's mills, whose massive five- and six-story brick buildings dominated the city's landscape. ... By the 1850s, 40 textile mills employing over 10,000 workers stretched for about a mile along the river. ...

(3) The city's female workforce was significant in the history of Lowell. From the early to mid-1800s, women left the constricted lifestyle of small rural towns and rural areas for independent industrial city life. Most were young single Yankee girls, who were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work. Women found that Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board. Although these women gained economic independence in Lowell, the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities, for which they hardly had any time, considering their daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules. At the end of the day, the factory bell signaled the "mill girls" to return to their boardinghouses. They were expected to adhere to the strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church.

(4) Yankee "mill girls" continued to dominate the Lowell workforce until the 1840s, when the city began to find it difficult to compete with the growing industrial development in other New England communities. As profits fell, the mill industry cut wages. These wage cuts, deteriorating working conditions, and long workdays led the "mill girls" to protest and organize strikes. When their demands went unheard, the women left Lowell, and immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce. Despite the low wages and unhealthy work conditions, immigrants were eager to find work.

(5) The immigrants replacing the Yankee "mill girls" during the 1840s were predominantly Irish Catholics, who traveled to America during the Great Potato Famine. Although Lowell received an influx of Irish families during this time, the Irish were a part of the city's history from its birth, and before the "mill girls" arrived, they built Lowell's historic canals, mills, and boardinghouses. Initially, Lowell's Protestant community was slow to welcome Irish immigrants, but the hostility between Yankee Protestants and Irish Catholics eventually disappeared. Irish immigrants dominated the industrial scene until the Civil War, when other immigrant groups began to work in the city mills.

(6) Like the Irish, the French-Canadians, Greeks, Poles, Portuguese, Russian Jews, and Armenians who came to work in Lowell's mills faced long work hours, low wages, and poor living conditions in the city's crowded tenements. By the time Lowell's industry declined, the city had become an ethnic melting pot, where each group claimed its own distinct neighborhood, like the Irish immigrants' "New Dublin" or "Acre," and the French-Canadians' "Little Canada." The city officially began to close down its mills in the 1920s and '30s after Lowell's outdated mills could no longer compete against the state-of-the-art cotton mills in other communities and working conditions continued to decline as Lowell's companies stopped reinvesting in their mills. ... Despite a brief resurgence during World War II, the city shut down its last surviving mill by the mid-1950s.

Based on the passage, which statement best describes the lives of the Yankee 'mill girls' in Lowell?

  1. They enjoyed complete freedom and high wages, with very few rules governing their lives outside of work hours.
  2. They were respected as the most skilled workers in Lowell and were never replaced by less experienced immigrant labor.
  3. They were primarily motivated by the desire to protest and organize strikes against the New England mill industry.
  4. They experienced a new level of financial autonomy but lived in a highly controlled environment with long workdays. (correct answer)
Explanation: Multi-detail questions ask you to pick the statement that captures several details at once, here the mix of freedom and control in the mill girls' lives. Paragraph 3 shows the gains: "Lowell's mills offered monthly wages for their services and provided them room and board", and "these women gained economic independence in Lowell". The same paragraph shows the limits: "the mill boardinghouse keepers constantly supervised their social activities," they kept "daily 12- to 14-hour work schedules", and they had to follow a "strict code of conduct respecting curfew and attending church." Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because the supervision, curfew, and church rules in paragraph 3 rule out complete freedom, and paragraph 4 says "the mill industry cut wages." Choice B is wrong because paragraph 4 says "immigrant groups replaced them in the workforce", and the passage never ranks the women as the most skilled workers. Choice C is wrong because paragraph 3 says the women came because they "were tired of the limited opportunities offered by their domestic work", and the strikes came later in response to wage cuts. The correct answer is D because paragraph 3 pairs economic independence with constant supervision and long workdays. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about a group's experience, watch for a passage that shows both sides, and choose the answer that keeps both rather than one extreme.

Question 16

Excerpt from "Winter Wheat" by Mildred Walker

(1) I love Dad's way of talking that makes him seem different from other ranchers. He's lived here twenty-three years, but he still says "back East where I come from." He's the one who gets excited when I do about spring coming or a serial running in the magazine we're both reading, but it's what Mom says that I depend on. When Mom used to say "Don't worry" about my pet chicken or dog or new calf, it always got well. Dad is always talking of going some place, not now, but next year, maybe. Mom seems to think of nothing farther away than today or perhaps yesterday or tomorrow morning.

(2) Mom folded the ironing board and put it inside their bedroom that was just off the kitchen. She carried in the freshly ironed clothes. Dad went back to his paper. When Mom came back she took beans from the cupboard to soak for tomorrow. Dad always said Mom could make all the dishes he'd had back in Vermont as well as though she were a New Englander herself, instead of a Russian. All of a sudden, I realized that tomorrow when those beans would be ready to eat I'd be going away. It gave me a funny feeling.

(3) "I'll be taking the train tomorrow night," I said aloud, more to hear it myself.

(4) "We can drive you into town in the afternoon," Dad said, dropping his paper on the floor.

(5) "There's no need to go to town; she can catch the train at Gotham just as well. We haven't nothing to take us into town for," Mom said.

(6) "Well, we don't have to decide tonight," Dad said, but I knew he wanted to go into Clark City. It wouldn't be so flat as just seeing me go off on the train from Gotham. My going away was hard on both of them; they were so different—and I was part of them both. It made me uncomfortable to think of leaving them.

(7) While I was getting ready for bed in my room that's off the front room, I saw how it would be if I left from town. We'd go in right after dinner and go around to the stores, Dad going one way and Mom and I another. Dad would probably have his hair cut at the barbershop and stop in the bank and meet someone he knew to talk to. Then we'd meet at the big store on the corner and go to the cafeteria for supper. The train stops ten minutes or so at the station in town and there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform and then again from your window by your seat. We went to the station in Clark City to see the Goodals off when they went back to Iowa.

(8) If I left from Gotham, we'd just drive down in the truck and wait till the train came. It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away.

(9) I sat on the bed in my pyjamas with my arms around my knees. I couldn't keep from thinking of that time Dad went back East. I tried to, and then I just sat still and looked straight at it. Sometimes that's better than working so hard to keep from looking at what's in your mind.

(10) Dad went all the way back to Vermont. ... It was in November and it was already dark when the train came through Gotham. Even now, I could feel how cold and dark it was. I held Mom's hand. Dad was so dressed-up he seemed strange.... We stood there without saying anything until Dad told Mom to remember to call Mr. Bardich, our neighbor, if the cow didn't calve tomorrow.

(11) "I'll manage," Mom snapped back.

(12) "I wish you could go, Anna," Dad said to Mom, "and we could take Ellen." ...

(13) "Good-by, Anna Petrovna," he said, looking at Mom. I had never heard him call her by two names before.

(14) "Good-by," Mom said, standing still, without smiling.

(15) Then he was gone and the crossroads were darker than ever. The train light shone on the high window in the top of the grain elevator for a moment and then that too was dark. We got into our old Ford and Mom drove back to the house. My throat ached all the way. The name Dad had called Mom kept saying itself in my ears: "Anna Petrovna, Anna Petrovna." ...

(16) Our house seemed lonely when we came back to it. It seemed to be hiding under the coulee. I went with Mom to put the truck in the barn that was bigger than the house. I think Mom was prouder of our barn than the house, anyway. We walked back to look at the cow that was going to calve. She was just a big light blob in the dark, waiting. I had thought she was exciting this morning, but now she seemed sad, too.

(17) The wind blew when we walked across the open space to the house and I couldn't help shivering with the cold. Inside the house it was warm, but empty.

(18) "Bring your nightgown in here and I heat you some milk," Mom said.

(19) I drank the milk sitting on a stool in front of the stove. It tasted good, but the lonely ache in my throat was still there. I picked up my clothes and hung them neatly behind the stove and put my cup on the sink board. Mom was fixing oatmeal for tomorrow morning.

(20) "Good night, Mom," I said almost timidly, standing beside her. She seemed wrapped around in a kind of strangeness. Then she turned around and drew me to her. The front of her dress was warm from the stove. I felt the comfortable heat through my gown. She laid her hand against my face and it felt rough and hard but firm. I dared ask her something I wanted to know.

(21) "Mom, was that really your name—what Dad called you?"

(22) Her voice sounded surprised. "Why, Yelena, you know that; Anna Petrovna. You know I am born in Russia, in Seletskoe."

(23) "Yes, but I didn't know your other name," I said.

(24) "Anna Petrovna Webb." She pronounced it slowly. "Once I think what a funny name Ben Webb is!" She laughed. Her laugh was warm and low like our kitchen, and comfortable. The house seemed natural and right again....

(25) But now that I am grown, I feel the wall of strangeness between them, more than when I was a child. I wondered how they would get along without me.

Which statement best describes the difference the narrator perceives between departing from Clark City versus Gotham?

  1. Leaving from Gotham is preferable because it is quicker and allows her to avoid a long, emotional goodbye.
  2. The train only stops at Gotham for passengers going east, while the Clark City train runs in the opposite direction.
  3. Clark City is much farther away, making the journey to the train station difficult for her parents in their old truck.
  4. Departing from Clark City involves a sense of ceremony and excitement that is absent from the brief, functional stop at Gotham. (correct answer)
Explanation: This question asks you to compare the narrator's descriptions of two possible departures. Leaving from Clark City would be an occasion: the family would visit the stores, go "to the cafeteria for supper", and at the station "there are other people and excitement and you have time to wave from the platform" (paragraph 7). Gotham is bare by comparison: "It only stops long enough for you to get on and you hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away" (paragraph 8). Looking at the incorrect options: A is wrong because the narrator presents the short Gotham stop as a loss, not a relief; you "hardly have time to taste the flavor of going away." B is wrong because the narrator describes the stops by how long they last and how they feel, never by which direction the train runs. C is wrong because Mom's objection to town is that "We haven't nothing to take us into town for" (paragraph 5), not that the drive is too hard. The correct answer is D because Clark City offers ceremony and excitement while Gotham offers only a brief stop. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading comparison questions, pick the choice that captures the contrast the narrator actually draws, not a difference the passage never discusses.

Question 17

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian" by Hilary Wilson

(1) In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.

(2) Hieroglyphs—"the Words of God"—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.

(3) Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed "Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands," and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background...

(4) But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments ... family or household servants delivered the students' food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family's income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe's craft. This limited the scope for employment but such "on the job" training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning....

(5) Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors' corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.

(6) A schoolboy "dictionary" of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, "be a scribe" was the best of career advice.

Based on the passage, which statement accurately characterizes the surviving written materials from ancient Egypt?

  1. All surviving texts are formal inscriptions from temples and tombs, as everyday documents were considered unimportant.
  2. Only documents written in hieratic script have survived, as the knowledge of hieroglyphs was lost for 1,500 years.
  3. The work of student scribes has proven invaluable, preserving not only everyday writing but also significant literary texts. (correct answer)
  4. The only surviving texts are dictionaries created by students, which list hieroglyphs and their hieratic equivalents.
Explanation: This question asks you to characterize the surviving written materials using details from the passage. Paragraph 3 describes "Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca." Paragraph 5 notes "Surviving examples of copy-work" and states that "Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies." Student work preserves both everyday writing and important literature. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice A is wrong because the student ostraca and copy-work in paragraphs 3 and 5 are everyday writing, not formal inscriptions from temples and tombs. Choice B is wrong because paragraph 2 says the meanings of hieroglyphs were lost "before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822," so hieroglyphic writing survived to be deciphered; only its meaning was lost. Choice D is wrong because the schoolboy dictionary in paragraph 6 is one surviving item among others, including ostraca, copy-work and literary works from student copies. The correct answer is C because paragraphs 3 and 5 show that student scribes' work preserved both everyday writing and "significant Egyptian literary works." Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions, be suspicious of choices with words like "all" or "only," and test them against every paragraph that mentions the topic.

Question 18

Excerpt from "Scribe Like an Egyptian" by Hilary Wilson

(1) In ancient Egypt, literacy was the key to success. However, contrary to popular belief, not all Egyptian scribes understood hieroglyphs. Many relied instead on the simpler hieratic script for the multitude of everyday documents generated by the Egyptian bureaucracy.

(2) Hieroglyphs—"the Words of God"—compose a writing system with more than 1,000 distinct characters, the meanings of which were lost for 1,500 years before they were deciphered by Jean-François Champollion in 1822. Including both ideograms (which convey a whole word or idea, either concrete or abstract, in a single sign) and phonograms (representing either an alphabetic sound or a group of consonants), [the writing system] was used in formal inscriptions on tomb and temple walls as well as on elaborate funerary papyri. For everyday purposes, however, scribes used a shorthand version of the hieroglyphic script known as hieratic, which was quicker to write and more economical of space. The two writings existed side by side for at least 2,500 years.

(3) Scraps of ancient hieratic writing, mostly penned by student scribes on limestone flakes called ostraca, suggest that no matter how humble his origins, an educated Egyptian could achieve almost anything. Horemheb (d.1292 B.C.) is a good example. Born of middle-ranking parents, his scribal training led to an army career. From Scribe of Recruits, during the reign of Akhenaten (1353–1336 B.C.), Horemheb rose through the military ranks and, by the rule of Tutankhamun (1332–1323 B.C.), he was commander in chief of the Egyptian forces. As a close adviser of the young Pharaoh, Horemheb was appointed "Deputy of the King throughout the Two Lands," and might have expected to succeed to the throne should the king die childless. He had to wait a few years, but eventually Horemheb achieved the pinnacle of his career by becoming the last king of the 18th Dynasty, making his mark by instituting dramatic reforms to the organisation of the army, the judiciary and administration in general. The lasting success of these changes owed much to his scribal background...

(4) But education was not available to all. Government departments and major temples supported schools, where boys commenced their training at six or seven, sometimes earlier. To these boarding establishments ... family or household servants delivered the students' food and drink rations daily for several years, during which time the student was not contributing to the family's income. Boys from poorer families could only hope to be educated with support from a wealthier relative or patron, or through apprenticeship to an older scribe, perhaps the local clerk or land agent, who would teach them the basics of the scribe's craft. This limited the scope for employment but such "on the job" training allowed apprentices to help out at home while learning....

(5) Scribal education began with the elementary principles of the hieratic script. The lowliest scribes, who trained for just five or six years, probably learned only the rudiments of the hieroglyphic script. Students were set exemplar documents and extracts from popular texts to copy, to practice their hieratic handwriting on basic-format letters, reports and contracts, while absorbing the good advice contained in the texts. Surviving examples of copy-work sometimes include tutors' corrections added in red. Some significant Egyptian literary works survive almost exclusively from student copies.

(6) A schoolboy "dictionary" of hieroglyphs with their hieratic equivalents shows that a knowledge of more than 450 signs was required for everyday writing purposes. Lessons in record-keeping and filing and labelling enabled any half-competent scribe to perform that most essential of all scribal functions: the making and updating of lists. For professions such as those of government official, priest or lawyer, a scribe would train for several more years, increasing his vocabulary to perhaps a thousand or more signs. Those with the best handwriting or drawing skills might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts, commonly called Books of the Dead. Others could become draughtsmen, artists or architects. Doctors compiled their own collections of medication recipes, treatments and associated incantations, many copied from texts found in the House of Life, the temple library. Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records, which were administered by archivists. Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor. For young Egyptians, "be a scribe" was the best of career advice.

Which statement about the role and function of scribes in Egyptian society is supported by two details from the passage?

  1. The scribal profession was fundamental to the administration of Egypt's government and legal system. (correct answer)
  2. Scribes were exclusively artists who focused on decorating tombs and temples with elaborate hieroglyphs.
  3. Scribes mainly worked as teachers in schools, passing on their knowledge to the next generation of students.
  4. The role of the scribe was a minor one, limited to copying texts for the personal use of wealthy patrons.
Explanation: This question asks you to find the statement about scribes that two details from the passage support. Paragraph 6 states that "Egypt's bureaucratic society depended on the skills of an army of scribes of all ranks from filing clerk to tax assessor." The same paragraph says "Lawyers had to be familiar with the corpus of civil and religious laws and precedents found in the official records." These details show scribes at the center of government administration and the legal system. Looking at the incorrect options: Choice B is wrong because of "exclusively"; paragraph 6 lists filing clerks, tax assessors, officials, priests and lawyers, and only some scribes "might follow the craft of creating beautifully illustrated copies of funerary texts." Choice C is wrong because teaching appears only as apprenticeship "to an older scribe" in paragraph 4, while paragraph 6 shows scribes working in many roles beyond teaching. Choice D is wrong because paragraph 6 calls list-making "that most essential of all scribal functions" and says society "depended on" scribes, so their role was not minor. The correct answer is A because paragraph 6 shows that both government and law relied on scribes. Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about a role in society, look for summary sentences that state what a group depended on, then confirm with a second specific example.

Question 19

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Which statement best describes the annual camas harvest, based on details in the passage?

  1. It was a significant communal event that combined the practical work of food preparation with social and festive activities. (correct answer)
  2. It was strictly a time of hard labor, focused solely on gathering enough food for the coming winter months.
  3. It was a gathering primarily for trading goods, with festivities and food gathering being secondary activities.
  4. It was a solemn, tradition-bound ceremony where younger children were expected to work alongside the adults.
Explanation: This question asks you to choose the statement that fits several details about the camas harvest. Paragraph 1 says the villages gathered "for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest." Paragraph 4 lists the festivities: "The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about". It also names "the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish." The harvest was a shared event of both work and celebration. Looking at the incorrect options: B is wrong because paragraph 1 names "festivities" alongside the work, and paragraph 4 describes racing, gambling, and stick games. C is wrong because trading is only one item in the list in paragraph 4, and paragraph 6 shows the women working "to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could". D is wrong because paragraph 4 says "It was good to be friends together", and paragraph 8 says "And the younger children played." The correct answer is A because paragraphs 1 and 4 show the harvest joined "work and festivities". Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions that ask for the best description, prefer the choice that covers every major kind of detail; choices with words like strictly or primarily often leave half the evidence out.

Question 20

Excerpt from "Do Them No Harm!" by Zoa L. Swayne

(1) In the moon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.

(2) From far and near The People came....

(3) Should a stranger enter their homeland and ask, "Where are you from?" the reply was always, "We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place."

(4) It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be friends together.

(5) As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma, a time far back beyond the memory of man, they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains. Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across the wide meadow, by the great roasting pits, the camps of the Te-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed areas in and among the pines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.

(6) Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply. Now they were at the Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that WARM was going and COLD was coming.

(7) Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted for meat. While many of the women dug and roasted camas, other women and older children picked and dried berries.

(8) And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.

(9) This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.

(10) —"People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!" they called as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.

(11) Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?

(12) "Who can it be? What brings them here?" were the questions in every mind.

(13) "Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they have news of the families who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?"

(14) It was customary for a hunting party to be gone for more than one season.

(15) —"Looks like hunters," the older men agreed. ... "Maybe our four hunters..."

(16) —"Looks like five people—not four," others observed.

(17) Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.

(18) "A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?" they asked.

(19) "Looks like a woman. Who is she?"

(20) The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show off the loads of meat, hides, and other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment for all to see how strong their Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.

(21) Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody. The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity. Who was she? Where had she come from?

(22) Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had left came back now—a grown woman.

(23) "Wat-ku-ese!" the women cried. "Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!" And Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.

(24) Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and made a place for her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.

(25) One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.

Which statement about the structure of the Nee-mee-poo community during the harvest is supported by the passage?

  1. The community followed established traditions, with different groups from various villages occupying their customary camping spots. (correct answer)
  2. The community was disorganized, with families setting up camps randomly throughout the meadow.
  3. The community was segregated, with hunters and their families living in a separate area from the women who gathered roots.
  4. The community was small and isolated, consisting of only Red Bear's people and their immediate neighbors.
Explanation: This question asks you to pick the statement about how the camp was arranged that the passage supports. Paragraph 5 explains that "they set up their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them." It names where each group camped, such as "Red Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came out of the mountains", and says the shelters of other groups "nestled in their accustomed areas". The camp followed long-held tradition. Looking at the incorrect options: B is wrong because paragraph 5 places each group "in their accustomed areas", the opposite of random. C is wrong because paragraph 5 arranges the camps by group, such as Red Bear's people and The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, not by who hunted and who gathered roots. D is wrong because paragraph 1 says "people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation gathered", and paragraph 5 says the shelters "encircled the entire meadow land." The correct answer is A because paragraph 5 says each group camped where "their parents and grandparents had occupied before them." Strategy tip: On SHSAT reading questions about how a group is organized, find the paragraph that describes the setting in detail and test each choice against its specific words.