sat virtual reality iii explanations phần 2 pps

15. C Here you’re given that a and b are integers, but you don’t know whether they are
positive or negative, so there are a lot of possible values of a and b that fit the
equation 2a + 5b = 15. One way to solve this one is to backsolve – to try each
answer choice. Plug in the given value for b and see if the equation works. If you
start with choice (C), which is a good idea when backsolving, you’re in luck here. If
b were equal to 2, the equation 2a + 5b = 15 would be 2a + 10 = 15, or 2a = 5, or a
= 2.5. But you’re given that a is an integer, so a cannot possibly be 2.5, so b = 2
doesn’t work and choice (C) is correct.
You might have noticed that in the equation 2a + 5b = 15 you have an even number,
2a, plus another number, 5b, being equal to an odd number, 15. An even number
plus an even number equals an even number, and an even number plus an odd
number equals an odd number, so the expression 5b must be an odd number. If 5b
is an odd number, then b must be an odd number (since odd × odd = odd and
odd × even = even). Therefore the correct answer choice is the one even number,
again choice (C).
16. B Since you’re given that y is between –1 and 0, why not pick an appropriate number
for y and plug it into each answer choice? Try y = – . Then choice (A) is
y
2
=
΂
–
΃
2
= ; (B) is 1 – y = 1 –
΂
–
΃
= 1 ; (C) is 1 + y = 1 +
΂
–

΃
= ; (D) is
2y = 2
΂
–
΃
= –1; and (E) is = = = .
Choice (B) is the greatest.
17. C A good way to solve this question is by making yourself a little table. Each
employee is described by two different things. Each one is a woman or a man and
each one either drives to work or takes public transportation. So make this table:
In this table each box will contain the number of employees having the two
appropriate attributes. For example, the box in the lower right-hand corner is the
number of men who take public transportation. We can also put numbers in the
2
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1
3
2
1
−
1
2
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+ 2
1

ᎏ
y + 2
1
ᎏ
2
1
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2
1
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2
1
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2
1
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2
1
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M
margins. For example, we can put the number of women in the company below the
box in the lower left-hand corner. Now let’s begin to put numbers in the table from
the information in the question stem. The question stem tells us that there are 25
women and 25 men, and that 29 employees drive to work. Each of these three
pieces of information describes only one attribute of the employees, so these
numbers will go in the appropriate margins. We’re told that 6 men take public
transportation. This describes both attributes, so put a 6 in the lower right-hand box.
Now your table should look like this:
What we want to find is the number of women who drive to work which is the
number that must go in the upper left-hand box. So let’s fill in information in the
table, hoping that we can work our way to the upper left-hand box. We know that
there are a total of 25 men in the company and that 6 men drive to work. This
means that the remaining 25 – 6 or 19 men take public transportation. So put a 19
in the upper right-hand box. Now we’re going to be able to find the number of
women who drive to work. Since 29 employees drive to work and 19 men drive to
work, 29 – 19 or 10 women drive to work. If you also put a 10 in the upper left-hand
box, your table should look like this:
So 10 women drive to work.
18. B Careful here! If you said to yourself: “This is simple, pages 10-25 are empty, that’s
25 – 10 = 15 pages at 4 photos a page, that’s 60 photos all together ,” then you fell
into a trap! NEVER pick an obvious answer on a hard problem. The catch here is
that page 10 is empty, too, and if you count from 10 to 25 while including both 10
and 25 you’ll see that there is a total of 16 empty pages, not 15. Since 16 × 4 = 64,
the correct answer is (B).
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W
D
P
M
6
29
25 25
W
D
P
M
6
29
25 25
19
10
In general, if a and b are integers and a < b, the number of integers from a through
b inclusive (meaning that we’re including a and b) is b – a + 1.
19. E This is much more of a logic question than a math question, so you have to think it
through carefully. Since you’re asked which answer choice must be true, one way to
do it is to go look at each answer choice and try to find a possible situation in which
that choice is not true. Let’s start with choice (A), which says that at least one
stereo was sold on each day of the month. That’s not necessarily true, maybe all 63
stereos were sold on one day and none the rest of the month. Cross out choice (A).
Is it necessarily true that exactly 2 stereos were sold on a particular day? No, again
it’s possible that all 63 stereos were sold on one day and none the other days. You
can eliminate choice (B). Do we know if a stereo was sold on a Monday,
Wednesday or a Friday? What if all 63 were sold on a particular Tuesday? So

choice (C) is not necessarily true. Our useful scenario with all 63 stereos being sold
on one particular day is good enough to eliminate choice (D) as well, which leaves
us with only choice (E), which must be correct. Just to be sure, take a look at it. It
says that at least 3 stereos were sold on one day. If all 63 were sold on one day,
then on that day at least 3 stereos were sold. If the sale of stereos was more evenly
distributed, would there necessarily be a day in which 3 or more stereos were sold?
Since a month has at most 31 days, if 2 or less stereos were sold each day of the
month, then at most only 62 stereos would have been sold in that month. In order
for 63 stereos to be sold, there has to be at least one day where 3 or more stereos
were sold, so choice (E) is correct.
20. E If the slope of a line is – , that means every time the y-coordinate decreases by 3,
the x-coordinate increases by 2. So, if the y-coordinate goes from 6 to 0, as it does
if you travel along line  from point A to point B, it decreases by 6, or 2 × 3.
Therefore the x-coordinate must increase by 2 × 2, or 4. Since the x-coordinate of A
is 0, the x-coordinate of B must be 4, so point B’s coordinates are (4, 0). That
means that the length of OB is 4. Since the length of OA is 6, the area of the
triangle is × 4 × 6 = 12, choice (E).
21. C Yo u ’re given that a and b are positive integers that add up to 10. There’s a limited
number of integers that meet those requirements – a could be 9 and b could be 1, a
could be 8 and b could be 2, etc. If you list all the possible values of a and b you’ll
find that there are 9 pairs of numbers that could be the values for a and b. Yo u
could plug each of these 9 pairs of numbers into the expression a – b to see which
turns out the smallest. If you do it that way you’ll find that a – b is smallest when a
is 1 and b is 9, so a – b = –8, choice (C).
That method is a little time-consuming, however. You can make this problem very
short and quick if you just think about the expression a – b. Since a and b are both
positive, this expression will be as small as it can get when a is as small as possible
and b is as large as possible. Since the smallest possible value for a is 1, the
largest possible value for b is 10 – 1 or 9, and therefore the smallest possible value
for a – b must be 1 – 9, or –8, again choice (C).

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22. E To do this question, you have to know what the word “median” means. The median
of a group of numbers is the one in the middle when the numbers are placed in
ascending order. For example, the median of the numbers 3, 6, 7, 12 and 20 is 7.
Notice that the same number of terms are smaller than the median as are greater
than the median.
In this question you’re given that 73 is the median of a group of 7 numbers (one for
each day of the week). That means that 3 numbers must be less than 73 and 3
numbers must be greater than 73. 67, 71, and 72, the temperatures for Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday, respectively, are each less than 73. The other 3
temperatures must be greater than 73. The Friday temperature is 76, and among
the answer choices the only values for Saturday and Sunday which are both greater
than 73 are 74 and 77, choice (E).
23. D This question is a lot easier if you pick numbers for the variables. Let’s say that x is
1 and y is 2. Then it takes the printer 1 minute to print 2 pages. That’s a lot easier
to deal with, isn’t it? Then how long does it take the printer to print y + 2, or 4
pages? If it prints 2 pages in one minute, then to print 4 pages it must take 2
minutes. Now you can eliminate any answer choice which does not equal 2 when x
is 1 and y is 2. (A) is 3, (B) is , (C) is , (D) is 2, and (E) is . Since only
choice (D) resulted in the correct value of 2, choice (D) must be correct.
If you wanted to do it algebraically, you have to determine the rate of the printer in

minutes per page and then multiply that rate by the number of pages. The rate is x
minutes per y pages, or minutes per page. Since there are y + 2 pages, the
number of minutes is minutes per page × (y + 2) pages = minutes,
answer choice (D).
24. D One important thing to remember about quadrilaterals is that the sum of the interior
angles is 360˚. That means that w + x + y + 70 = 360, and therefore w + x + y =
290. x must be a positive, but it can be a number very close to 0. If x actually were
0 then w + y would be 290. If x were very slightly larger than 0, w + y would be very
slightly smaller than 290. So, 290 must be the upper bound of the range of values
that w + y could have, so the correct answer must be choice (B) or choice (D). If x
were equal to 45, then w + 45 + y would be 290, and w + y would be 245. However,
x can’t equal 45, but its largest possible value could be a number very slightly
smaller than 45. That means that w + y would equal a number very slightly larger
than 245. So, 245 must be the lower bound of the range of values that w + y could
have. That means that the correct answer must be choice (D).
x(y + 2)
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y
x
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y
x
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y
1
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1
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3
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25. A If each term is x more than the previous term, then each term must equal x plus the
previous term, in other words s = r + x and t = s + x. Combining those 2 equations
gives you t = (r + x) + x = r + 2x. The average of r, s and t is . Substituting
r + x for s and r + 2x for t gives you = = =
= r + x, answer choice (A).
3(r + x)
ᎏ
3
3r + 3x
ᎏ
3
r + (r + x) + (r + 2x)
ᎏᎏᎏ
3
r + s + t
ᎏ
3
r + s + t
ᎏ
3
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section three
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Section 3 (Verbal)
1. D This is about the philosopher Thomas Malthus’s predictions about population
growth — kind of an intimidating subject if you haven’t read much philosophy. But
don’t worry. This sentence is pretty simple once you take it apart and look for
clues. The biggest clue is the word famine. You’re told that population growth does
something to food production, resulting in famine. Well, you know that when many
people are hungry and there’s not enough food to go around, famine happens. Or,
to put it in terms of the sentence, population growth would exceed food production,
resulting in massive famine. The answer choice that best matches this prediction is
(D) surpass
.
2. C The key to this sentence is that Dr. Brown “brooked no deviation from his ideas.” In
other words, he wouldn’t put up with anyone who disagreed, which through the use
of “while,’’ is contrasted with his supposed belief in discussing issues. Hence, (C):
Brown pr
ofesses or claims to have such a belief, but he interrupts anyone who
doesn’t concur
, or agree. (A) makes no sense: there’s no contrast between
regretting a belief in discussion and cutting off those who don’t agree with you.
(B), (D) and (E) may be a bit confusing. They’re just the opposite of what’s needed
in the second blank. Since Brown doesn’t tolerate disagreement, he probably
would not cut off anyone who did not (B) debate, (D) question, or (E) protest.
3. E Here you may find it easier to fill in the second blank first, because it contains the
catchy phrase “merely , not canceled.” Look for cliched phrases like these on
sentence completions — they can help you get the answer fast. What probably

pops into your head when you read “merely , not canceled” is “merely put off, not
canceled.” That’s logical. What you need in this second blank is something that
means the employees have put off their demands for now, but will bring them up
again in the future. So (E) postponed
is correct. (E)’s first word works as well: it
makes sense that employers would try to moderate wage increases during
serious economic difficulties. (C) redressed means “set right or corrected.”
4. C This example is typical of Sentence Completions testing vocabulary. Getting the
answer hinges on knowing that virulent means “extremely poisonous.” The
sentence tells us that certain poisonous compounds in peach pits are “usually not
harmful.” But, the sentence continues, if you eat enough of them, they can be
We need a word that means “poisonous” or “harmful.” V
irulent, like the related
word virus, comes from a root that means “poison.” What if you didn’t know the
word vir
ulent? If you noticed the resemblance between virus and virulent, that
would have been a good clue. Otherwise, you could have tried eliminating answer
choices. Choices (A) and (D) are words that relate to things that taste bad, but
neither means “poisonous.” (A) acerbic means “sour or harsh.” (D)
unpalatable means “unacceptably bad-tasting.” (B) superfluous means
“unnecessary,” and (E) multifarious means “diverse.”
5. D Here you’re looking for words that fit with the phrases “ speeches to historical
figures” and “an impartial and historian.” The only choice that fits is (D).
Though Thucydides used psychological insight rather than documented information
to attribute
speeches to historical figures, he is still considered an impartial and
accurate
historian. (A) doesn’t work, because historians are never referred to as
endless. (B), (C), and (E) don’t work because the first word in each choice —
(B) transmit (to send); (C) disseminate (to distribute), (E) promote (to

advance) — doesn’t fit with the phrase “speeches to historical figures.”
Thucydides is an author. He’s describing historical figures in his writing, not
writing speeches for them.
6. D When you’re working on Sentence Completions, pick up clues that aren’t obvious.
For instance, notice complexity here. Complexity might not have jumped out at
you, but it’s key to figuring out both blanks. Whatever goes in the first blank has
to describe how readers would react to a novel’s complexity. Would they be (A)
charmed by its complexity ? Probably not. They probably wouldn’t be (B)
rejected by its complexity either. (C) inhibited, (D) daunted or (E)
enlightened are possible, but only (D) fits in the second blank. In (D), it makes
sense to say that readers daunted, or intimidated, by the allusiveness, or
symbolic quality, of Joyce’s novel would find Gilbert’s study a helpful introduction.
Don’t be daunted by hard words like allusiveness. If you don’t know
vocabulary, you can still use logic to rule out most of the wrong choices.
7. E The word in the blank has to have something to do with religion. (E) is the only
choice that does. An agnostic is someone who is uncertain about the
existence of god. (A) an archetype is an original pattern or model. (B) a
bibliophile is a book-lover or book collector. (C) a martinet is a strict
disciplinarian, one who rigidly follows rules. (D) an aesthete is someone who
appreciates and cares about beauty or beautiful art. The vocabulary is pretty
hard here. As always, if you can rule out one clearly wrong choice, it’s worth your
while to guess, rather than skip, the question.
8. C Wrath means “anger.” In the first blank here, you can predict that the project
managers were unwilling to risk arousing the anger of their superiors, or bosses.
(C) is correct – incur
ring means bringing down on oneself, becoming liable or
subject to. (C)’s second word, maintain
, also works. Maintain here isn’t
being used to mean “to keep in repair,” as in “maintain a car.” It’s being used in
its secondary meaning: “to assert or declare.’ Watch out for secondary meanings

like these on the SAT.
9. B The clue although tells us that the two missing words have to show contrast.
Also, the word in the first blank has to go along with the word “sweet,” and the
second word has to describe something offensive. We can predict something like
“pleasant unpleasant.” The only choice that fits is B, mild pungent.
Pungent means “sharp or biting.” It’s the opposite of mild. In (C), bland
means “not stimulating.” In D, cloying means “sickeningly sweet.” Ephemeral
means “fleeting or short-lived.” In (E), rancid means “rotten” and acrid means
“sharp or bitter.”
10. C The word in the blank describes what audiences see the stand-up comic do. So
it’s a word like “act” or “entertain.” (C) extemporize is the only possible answer.
It means “to improvise, to speak (or appear to speak) on the spur of the moment.”
If you didn’t know this hard word, you could have ruled out some wrong answers
that clearly had nothing to do with acting, like (A) recruit. (B) placate means
“to soothe or be conciliatory.” (D) extricate means “to free from entanglement,
rescue or disengage.” (E) exult means “rejoice.”
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section three
11. B A SCOWL is a face you make when you’re ANGRY. In (B), a grin is a face you
make when you’re cheer
ful. In (A) to amble is to walk in a leisurely way. It’s
not a hasty way of walking at all. In (D), to fret is to worry. This word might
have reminded you of the stem pair, since negative emotions are involved in both.
But even though (B) contains words relating to positive emotions, it’s right
because the relationship between the two words is right.
12. B A CARDIOLOGIST studies, or works with the HEART. The word cordial or
warm, hearty, shares the same root as CARDIOLOGIST. The answer is (B)
because a linguist studies language. (C) surgeon:scalpel was a same

subject temptation. (D) was close, but an astrologist doesn’t actually study a
star in the same way that a heart specialist studies the heart. Astrologists study
something more obscure: the movements of the planets and their effects on
human behavior.
13. D A group of SOLDIERS is called a PLATOON. In the same way, a group of
bir
ds is called a flock. This might have fooled you because correct choice (D)
is the only one that doesn’t involve humans. But the important thing is the
relationship: whole to part. Only (D) gets that right.
14. C Something ASKEW is crooked or awry. If you STRAIGHTEN it, it’s no longer
ASKEW. Likewise, something obscure is unclear or indistinct, and if you
clarify
it, it’s no longer obscure. (A) gives us the opposite of what we want: if
you disinfect something, it becomes sterile. There’s no clear bridge in (B)
between saline and preserve. You might (D) haggle or bargain over some
item, but that doesn’t necessarily make it not expensive. It doesn’t make sense
to say in (E) that if you trust someone, he or she won’t be suspicious.
15. C The top of a MOUNTAIN is the SUMMIT. The top of a wave
is the crest.
You might have been fooled by (D), but an attic is a room in a house or building
that’s directly under the roof. That’s not the very top of a house, for one thing, and
for another, not all houses have attics.
16. A A SKEIN is a quantity of YARN that has been rolled into a spiral. In the same
way, in (A), a coil
is a quantity of wire that has been rolled into a spiral. The
word SKEIN may be new to you, in which case you can use other strategies to
help you find the right answer: first, eliminate the choices that have weak bridges;
secondly, see if the stem words make sense when plugged in to the bridges of the
choices that remain. (C) and (E) have weak bridges: in (C) only some pipes are
made of lead, and distance and track, (E), have no necessary connection.

Let’s consider the remaining choices (A), (B) and (D). As we saw above, (A) has
a strong bridge which sounds sensible when used with the stem words; so (A) is a
definite possibility. (B) also has a strong bridge: a thimble is used to protect the
finger that pushes a needle in sewing; could a skein be used to protect the
finger from yarn? It doesn’t make sense so (B) is out. Finally, look at (D): a
tape is used for obtaining measurement. This bridge does not sound sensible
with the stem words either, so we can eliminate (D). That leaves (A), which is the
correct answer.
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17. D When you’re PERTURBED, or disturbed, you don’t experience TRANQUILITY.
When you’re reassured, you don’t feel anxiety. Although these pairs seem
opposites of each other, they have the same relationship. In (B), dissension is
disagreement. This choice may have reminded you of the stem pair. (C) was close,
but the word weeping is too specific. If you are consoled, you might stop
weeping, but you don’t have to be weeping in order to be consoled.
18. C The word ANARCHIC comes from the simpler word “anarchy” which means
“chaos.” Something that’s ANARCHIC lacks ORDER. If you didn’t know that (C)
ar
tless means free from deceit or guile, you could have eliminated weak bridges
and guessed. (D) and (E) have very shaky bridges. (A) isn’t great either. You
could be insane and still have a motive for doing things. (B) has a strong bridge:
if you’re tranquil, you experience peace. That’s different than the stem pair, so
you might have picked (C) even if you didn’t know what ar

tless and guile meant.
19. A To AMELIORATE means to make BETTER. Bad effects or bad situations can
be ameliorated or improved. The word weaker
in (A) might have made it hard to
see that this was the right answer, since weaker seems opposed to BETTER.
But the important thing is that the bridge is the same: to enfeeble means to
make weaker
. (E) was close but not quite right. If something disintegrates, it
falls apart – it doesn’t just get smaller.
20. B PUISSANT means strong or powerful. Someone who’s PUISSANT has a lot of
POWER; someone who’s af
fluent has a lot of money. In (A) an intelligent
person may or may not have a lot of books. In (C), cryptic means puzzling. You
can’t say that someone or something that’s cryptic has understanding. In (D),
someone who’s belligerent is quarrelsome or war-like. A quarrelsome person
doesn’t necessarily have strength. In (E) latent ability hasn’t been expressed
or revealed. That’s not the same as the bridge in the stem pair.
21. C Have you ever paid RAPT attention to anything? If you did, you were RAPT — so
fascinated by what you were seeing or hearing that you were at your highest
possible state of ATTENTIVENESS. Similarly, an innovative
person is at the
highest level of creativity. Unscrupulous (A) means “having no scruples, i.e.,
morals or ethics.” Assertiveness (B) means “self-confidence”—not a quality we’d
associate with being derisive or mocking. Indolent (D) means “lazy”; it has no
connection whatsoever with jealousy. Impudence (E) means “insolence or
cockiness.”
22. A To STUTTER is to speak HALTINGLY; to lumber
is to walk awkwardly.
None of the other choices has a true bridge: (B) blinking needn’t be done
rapidly; (C) whispering doesn’t have to be done indiscreetly; (D) gossip isn’t

malicious by definition; (E) you don’t necessarily push something forcefully.
23. E The last question is usually tough, and this one is no exception. To PETRIFY
means to turn to STONE. Have you ever heard of the Petrified Forest in Arizona?
It contains remnants from a prehistoric forest that became mineralized long ago.
The word pulverize
in (E) has a very specific meaning: to pulverize something
is to crush it completely, to turn it into dust or powder. This word was the hardest
word among the answer choices, but that’s what we can expect on the last question
of a set.
Cave Painting Passage
There are some disconcerting place-names and scientific terms in this passage,
but you don’t need to know any of them to get the points the author makes about
some of the earliest preserved art—cave paintings. The first paragraph ends with
a few questions: what sort of people were the cave painters? Why did they paint
at all, and specifically why in caves? These questions outline the rest of the
passage for you. Keep this in mind if you ever encounter a passage with a similar
format—it gives you a handle on the material.
24. B If you figure out what big points the author makes in the lines you’re referred to,
you’ll probably have no trouble understanding why the author mentions body-
painting (or whatever specific detail a question asks about). To do this, you
usually have to read a line or two around the line reference you’ve been given.
These lines tell us that if prehistoric humans made art, they haven’t left us any
trace of it. Body-painting is mentioned as an example of the kind of art they may
have made, but which we can’t have any evidence of (B). None of the other
choices match the point the author makes in these lines. The author is not
making a point about when people began using paint (A). Choices (C), (D) and
(E) bring up things not discussed until later in the passage.
25. C Again, go back to the passage and read around the line reference. The author
says the paintings “rivet our attention” because they are “great art,” and because
they raise questions about the people who painted them. Now check the answer

choices. (B) probably jumped out, because it starts, “raise questions about ”
But read carefully! The rest of the choice doesn’t make sense. Choice (C),
although not as eye-catching, is correct. (A) is from left-field. We do know some
things about the people and animals depicted in cave paintings, so (D) is wrong.
Finally, the point is that the paintings raise questions, not that they cast doubt, so
(E) is out.
26. B Don’t let strange words throw you—in this or any question. Even if you don’t
know where “Gargas and Rouffignac” are, or what stalactites or stalagmites are,
the point is in plain English: they “fill us with awe” and “stun us with their beauty.”
The author speculates that the cave painters must have felt the same way. This
should lead you to choice (B). The other choices provide reasons that might
sound sensible, but they don’t come from the passage. Don’t choose an answer
just because it makes sense to you; be sure there’s evidence in the passage.
27. A Assuming you’ve already gone to the line where “riot” is used (as you should do
with all vocabulary-in-context questions), which choices can you eliminate?
Certainly (C) brawl and (E) violence, since the word is used to describe something
of great beauty. The most common definitions of a word are usually wrong, so you
can also eliminate (B). That leaves (A) and (D). Only (A), profusion, makes
sense in context.
28. D In the quoted lines, the author says the term “cavemen” evokes an image of
“hairy brutes,” but then says that the Cro-Mags actually had “needles, buttons,
parkas and trail signs” in their caves. In other words, they’re misrepresented as
stupid brutes, when in fact they were quite sophisticated. (D) sums this up, and is
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section three
correct. (A) is too specific—the author’s not comparing Cro-Mags with
Neanderthals. She/he is talking about the contrast between the popular image of
Cro-Mags and the reality of their existence. (B) and (E) are not discussed—don’t
go making huge inferences! (C) refers to a nearby detail but misses the bigger
point.
29. B This question asks you to make a not-too-subtle inference. If as the passage says,
“garbage left in caves is more likely to have been preserved than other artifacts,” it’s
almost the same as saying that “artifacts in other locations are more likely to have
decayed.” (B) is correct: it makes common sense, and it matches what’s in the
passage. (A) is out because the author actually says that Cro-Mags lived both in
caves and far from them; she/he says nothing about the “majority” of them.
Archaeologists found trail signs inside caves, not outside them (C). The author
says nothing about what sites archaeologists are more likely to study—(D) infers
too much! (E) is never mentioned.
30. E Never skip a vocabulary-in-context question—they’re less time-consuming. What’s
going on in the lines around the word “notable”? The author’s describing some
specific examples of cave art, and she/he then says that some “especially notable”
works were done on irregular wall surfaces in order to suggest three-dimensionality.
The best substitute for “notable” in that sentence is “remarkable” (E). Two choices,
(A) and (D), are negative-sounding and easy to eliminate. “Conspicuous” (B) and
“important” (C) are much trickier, but they don’t fit the sentence as well as (E). Be
sure to check every choice before you make your move. Second-best choices can
be tempting, while the best answer may be hiding in (E).
31. D In this question, you have to make a mild interpretation—but remember, don’t go
overboard. Read a line or two before the one you’re referred to. The phrases
“used to believe” and “we now realize” indicate a contrast. What did archaeologists
formerly believe? That the paintings were of the animals most often hunted by Cro-
Magnons. So now, scientists must’ve found out that animals in cave paintings were
not the most hunted (D). A too-quick reading of these lines might’ve led you to (A).

But the author says “the most frequently painted animals were indeed hunted,” so
(A) is out. If you picked (B), (C), or (E), you’re focusing too narrowly on the quoted
phrase itself. Remember to read a line or two around it, to properly understand the
context.
32. D This question is easier than it looks—it’s basically just a vocabulary-in-context
question, asking about a term rather than a single word. If you read a little before
and after the quoted line, you find that “functional interpretations” simply means
explanations (D)—explanations (mostly wrong ones) of why Cro-Magnons created
cave art. If an answer is correct but seems simple, don’t waste time trying to
complicate the question.
33. B You probably read the “theories” this question refers to while answering question
32, so just go back and find out why these theories “fell into disfavor.” The following
lines say that they became unpopular when anthropologists began asking
contemporary native Australians why they create their rock art. The reasons are
diverse (B). (D) goes too far: The author doesn’t say the Cro-Magnon paintings
were IDENTICAL to present-day aboriginal paintings. Neanderthals (A) and trail-
signs (C) are not discussed in paragraph 4. And (E) makes no sense.