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SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage?
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Thoreau was all about simplicity; anything that took away from his vision was the enemy. Mechanical aids were one of them. Guess he had to train a...

SAT Reading: Suggesting a Reason for Thoreau's Word Choice
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Thoreau wants our lives to be simplified. He claims that we gain less from life when we over-complicate things.

How Does Thoreau Feel about Commerce?
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How does Thoreau feel about commerce? He writes, "We don't ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us." He wants and end to the war fighting for the...

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SAT Reading 5.2 Sentence Completion 165 Views


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Description:

SAT Reading Sentence Completion Drill 5, Problem 2

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

So many questions, so little time... Which word could fill in the blank so that

00:08

the sentence below makes sense?

00:09

Henry, who had a(n) blank upbringing, was quite impressed by the blank of his friend's palatial estate.

00:16

And here are the potential answers...

00:21

If Henry was so impressed with his friend's "palatial estate," then wherever he grew

00:25

up must've been a little...well...less palatial.

00:28

So the first blank should describe Henry's not-so-impressive house, and the second should

00:33

describe his friend's crazy-nice mansion. Let's start with the first blank and see

00:39

what it can tell us.

00:40

(A) and (B) are easy to eliminate because "extravagant" and "luxurious" both

00:45

describe a place way more over the top than Henry's.

00:48

The other first blank options are all possibilities, so we'll move on to blank number two.

00:53

(E) is a definite no. Palatial estates aren't really known for their "plainness."

00:58

(B) seems like it could be an option. The "location" of the friend's house might

01:03

be part of what makes it impressive...

01:05

But the whereabouts of Henry's house aren't mentioned, so location doesn't fit into

01:09

this equation. The root word "grand" gives us a hint

01:12

that "grandeur" would be a good word to describe a palatial estate. Therefore (C)

01:17

is the best answer...

01:19

Although "palatial estates" might not always be the best places to live.

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