SHSAT 1.3 Reading

1. Passage for Questions 1-6

The Life of Buddha by Asvaghosha is a poetical romance of nearly ten thousand lines. It relates the miraculous conception of the Indian sage, by the descent of a spirit on his mother, Maya, a woman of great purity of mind. The child was called Siddârtha, or "the perfection of all things." His father ruled a considerable territory, and was careful to conceal from the boy, as he grew up, all knowledge of the wickedness and misery of the world. He was therefore carefully educated within the walls of the palace, and surrounded with every luxury, but not allowed even to walk or drive in the royal gardens for fear he might see misery and sorrow. A beautiful girl was given to him in marriage, full of dignity and grace, with whom he lived in supreme happiness.

At length, as his mind developed and his curiosity increased to see and know things and people beyond the narrow circle to which he was confined, he obtained permission to see the gardens which surrounded the palace. His father took care to remove everything in his way which could suggest misery and sorrow; but a deva, or angel, assumed the form of an aged man, and stood beside his path, apparently struggling for life, weak and oppressed. This was a new sight to the prince, who inquired of his charioteer what kind of a man it was. Forced to reply, the charioteer told him that this infirm old man had once been young, sportive, beautiful, and full of every enjoyment.

On hearing this, the prince sank into profound meditation, and returned to the palace sad and reflective; for he had learned that the common lot of man is sad, that no matter how beautiful, strong, and sportive a boy is, the time will come, in the course of Nature, when this boy will be wrinkled, infirm, and helpless. He became so miserable and dejected on this discovery that his father, to divert his mind, arranged other excursions for him; but on each occasion a deva contrived to appear before him in the form of some disease or misery. At last he saw a dead man carried to his grave, which still more deeply agitated him, for he had not known that this calamity was the common lot of all men. The same painful impression was made on him by the death of animals, and by the hard labors and privations of poor people. The more he saw of life as it was, the more he was overcome by the sight of sorrow and hardship on every side. He became aware that youth, vigor, and strength of life in the end fulfilled the law of ultimate destruction. While meditating on this sad reality beneath a flowering Jambu tree, where he was seated in the profoundest contemplation, a deva, transformed into a religious ascetic, came to him and said, "I am a Shaman. Depressed and sad at the thought of age, disease, and death, I have left my home to seek some way of rescue; yet everywhere I find these evils, all things hasten to decay. Therefore I seek that happiness which is only to be found in that which never perishes, that never knew a beginning, that looks with equal mind on enemy and friend, that heeds not wealth nor beauty, the happiness to be found in solitude, in some dell free from molestation, all thought about the world destroyed."

This embodies the soul of Buddhism, its elemental principle, to escape from a world of misery and death; to hide oneself in contemplation in some lonely spot, where indifference to passing events is gradually acquired, where life becomes one grand negation, and where the thoughts are fixed on what is eternal and imperishable, instead of on the mortal and transient.

1. Which of the following best tells what this passage is about?

Why children shouldn’t be too sheltered.

How angels intervened in a man’s life.

The elemental principal of Buddhism and all its related tenets.

The fundamentals of Buddhism.

The differences between Siddartha and Buddha.

2. Which form did the angel first take before Siddartha?

A beautiful girl, full of dignity and grace.

A wrinkled, infirm, and helpless boy.

An aged man.

A charioteer.

A sportive young prince.

3. Why did the prince sink into profound meditation in line 33?

He was tired from his trip into the gardens.

He had never encountered an angel before.

He was miserable and dejected because there was so much he didn’t know.

He didn’t like being weak or oppressed.

He had never seen misery before.

4. What was the last angel Siddartha saw?

A dead man carried to his grave.

A dead animal.

Poor people full of hardship and sorrow.

A flowering Jambu tree.

A religious ascetic.

5. Which one of these did the Shaman seek to find?

Age and disease.

Death and decay.

Transient happiness.

Happiness in one’s love.

A rescue from the evils of the world.

6. In lines 70-73, what does the author mean by “the elemental soul of Buddhism?”

The basic tenet of Buddhism, where if one remains aloof from the world, one could escape the inevitable.

The basic tenet of Buddhism, where if one remains secluded from the world, one can fix one’s thoughts on eternal and imperishable things.

The eventual end of Buddhism, in which nothing matters because everything will come to an end.

The origins of Buddhism, in which the path to enlightenment was found in the midst of transience and decadence.

The meaning of Buddhism, in which it is better to hide away from the world than to be corrupted by it.

7. Passage for Questions 7-12

The religion of the Romans differed in some respects from that of the Greeks, inasmuch as it was emphatically a state religion. It was more of a ritual and a ceremony.

It included most of the deities of the Greek Pantheon, but was more comprehensive. It accepted the gods of all the nations that composed the empire, and placed them in the Pantheon, even Mithra, the Persian sun-god, and the Isis and Osiris of the Egyptians, to whom sacrifices were made by those who worshipped them at home. It was also a purer mythology, and rejected many of the blasphemous myths concerning the loves and quarrels of the Grecian deities.

It was more practical and less poetical. Every Roman god had something to do, some useful office to perform. Several divinities presided over the birth and nursing of an infant, and they were worshipped for some fancied good, for the benefits which they were supposed to bestow. There was an elaborate "division of labor" among them. A divinity presided over bakers, another over ovens, every vocation and every household transaction had its presiding deities.

There were more superstitious rites practiced by the Romans than by the Greeks, such as examining the entrails of beasts and birds for good or bad omens. Great attention was given to dreams and rites of divination.

The Roman household gods were of great account, since there was a more defined and general worship of ancestors than among the Greeks. These were the Penates, or familiar household gods, the guardians of the home, whose fire on the sacred hearth was perpetually burning, and to whom every meal was esteemed a sacrifice. These included a Lar, or ancestral family divinity, in each house.

There were Vestal virgins to guard the most sacred places. There was a college of pontiffs to regulate worship and perform the higher ceremonies, which were complicated and minute. The pontiffs were presided over by one called Pontifex Maximus, a title shrewdly assumed by Caesar to gain control of the popular worship, and still surviving in the title of the Pope of Rome with his college of cardinals.
There were augurs and haruspices to discover the will of the gods, according to entrails and the flight of birds.

The festivals were more numerous in Rome than in Greece, and perhaps were more piously observed. About one day in four was set apart for the worship of particular gods, celebrated by feasts and games and sacrifices. These various feasts imposed great contributions on the people, and were managed by the pontiffs with the most minute observances and legalities.

7. Which of the following best tells what this passage is about?

Roman mythology and its effect on the Roman system of government.

The parts of the Greek pantheon that the Romans had adopted for themselves.

The differences between Greek and Roman religions.

The extravagant feasts and games and sacrifices the Romans held in honor of their many gods.

The practical nature of Roman worship.

8. Roman religion differed from Greek religion in that

The Greek religion was more of a state religion than the Roman religion.

The Roman religion ignored the romances in Greek religion.

The Greek religion incorporated many elements from countries under its rule, unlike the Roman religion.

The Roman religion made sacrifices to the gods while the Greek religion didn’t.

While the Roman festivals celebrated with feasts, games, and sacrifices, the Greek festivals only had games and feasts.

9. According to the passage, Roman religion was “practical” because

It kept everybody happy by accepting all the gods of the people the Romans ruled.

Each god and deity had a place and a function.

Although there were gods and deities with overlapping functions were redundant, none were worshipped concurrently.

None of the blasphemous myths concerning the loves and quarrels of the Greek gods were included.

It included even Mithra the Persian Sun God as well as Isis and Osiris of the Egyptians.

10. What was the function of the Roman household gods?

They were a relic of Greek culture that had devolved to a mere curiosity in Roman times.

They served as a form of ancestor worship.

They kept the hearth fire always burning.

They provided sacrifices for each meal

They guarded the Vestal Virgins.

11. Why did Caesar take on the title of Pontifex Maximus?

He was deeply religious.

He was the best pontiff, and was therefore promoted.

He wanted to control the popular religion.

He wanted to make religion more popular.

He wanted to know the will of the gods.

12. The “great contributions on the people” most likely refers to

The piety the people display at religious observances.

The food and entertainment the people receive.

The taxes needed to fund the feasts, festivals, and games.

The popularity of a Pontifex Maximus who puts on the best entertainment.

The management of the festivals by the most experienced of pontiffs.

13. Passage for Questions 13-18

Joan tried for heresy! On that ground there was never a more innocent person tried by the Inquisition. Her whole life was notoriously virtuous. She had been obedient to the Church; she had advanced no doctrines which were not orthodox. She was too ignorant to be a heretic; she had accepted whatever her spiritual teacher had taught her; in fact, she was a Catholic saint. She lived in the ecstasies of religious faith like a Saint Theresa. She spent her time in prayer and religious exercises; she regularly confessed, and partook of the sacraments of the Church. She did not even have a single skeptical doubt; she simply affirmed that she obeyed voices that came from God.

Nothing could be more cruel than the treatment of this heroic girl, and all under the forms of ecclesiastical courts. It was the diabolical design of her enemies to make it appear that she had acted under the influence of the Devil; that she was a heretic and a sorceress.

Nothing could be more forlorn than her condition. No efforts had been made to ransom her. She was alone, and unsupported by friends, having not a single friendly counselor. She was carried to the castle of Rouen and put in an iron cage, and chained to its bars; she was guarded by brutal soldiers, was mocked by those who came to see her, and finally was summoned before her judges predetermined on her death. They went through the forms of trial, hoping to extort from the Maid some damaging confessions, or to entangle her with their sophistical and artful questions.

Nothing perhaps on our earth has ever been done more diabolically than under the forms of ecclesiastical law; nothing can be more atrocious than the hypocrisies and acts of inquisitors.

The judges framed seventy accusations against her, mostly frivolous, and some unjust, to the effect that she had received no religious training; that she had worn mandrake; that she dressed in man's attire; that she had bewitched her banner and her ring; that she believed her apparitions were saints and angels; that she had blasphemed; and other charges equally absurd. Under her rigid trials she fell sick; but they restored her, reserving her for a more cruel fate.

All the accusations and replies were sent to Paris, and the learned doctors decreed, under English influence, that Joan was a heretic and a sorceress.

13. Which of the following best tells us what the passage is about?

The history of Joan of Arc.

The heretical nature of Joan of Arc.

How Joan of Arc’s downfall was orchestrated by the Church.

The accusations leveled at Joan and how she evaded them.

The motivations behind Joan of Arc’s accusers.

14. Why did the author list so many examples in lines 1 to 15?

The author wanted to show that he is a credible historian.

The author wanted to show that Joan was too simple to have been a threat.

The author wanted to prove that Joan’s accusers didn’t know her very well.

The author wanted to prove that Joan was virtuous.

The author wanted to illustrate why Joan of Arc is a Catholic saint.

15. In lines 16 – 21, what accusations did Joan’s enemies level at her?

She did not respect the ecclesiastical courts.

Although heroic, she treated those around her with cruelty.

She had a diabolical design on her enemies.

She wasn’t a heretic and a sorceress.

She had acted under the influence of the Devil.

16. Which of the following is implied by the phrase “judges predetermined on her death” in line 30?

The judges were determined to make sure that Joan got a trial.

God had already deemed Joan guilty before any of this happened.

The judges were unfair and did their best to find Joan guilty.

The judges rigged the trial so that the audience would be better entertained.

The judges predicted the time of her death to the best of their ability.

17. Which of the following situations, if it had occurred, would lend further support to the point the author is trying to make?

Records were found in which the judges were conspiring against Joan.

It was found that the French had demonized the English’s treatment of Joan in order to engender wartime sentiment against the English.

Through rigorous study, it has been found that there truly is nothing else that is more atrocious than the hypocrisies and acts of the inquisitors.

Historical records prove that the questions framed against Joan were actually legitimate and justified for the time period in question.

A diary was found in which the writer saw that Joan of Arc really was guarded by brutal soldiers and mocked by those who came to see her.

18. What happened during the trials?

Joan dressed in man’s attire.

Joan became ill but was nursed back to health.

Joan believed her apparitions were saints and angels.

Damaging confessions were extorted from Joan.

Joan tried to escape from the judges.

19. Passage for Questions 19-24

It was in 1857 that the first tales of Miss Evans were published in "Blackwood's Magazine," when she was thirty-eight, in the full maturity of her mind.

"The Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton" was the first of the series called "Scenes of Clerical Life" which appeared. Mr. Blackwood saw at once the great merit of the work, and although it was not calculated to arrest the attention of ordinary readers he published it, confident of its ultimate success. He did not know whether it was written by a man or by a woman; he only knew that he received it from the hand of Mr. Lewes, an author already well known as learned and brilliant. It is fortunate for a person in the conventional world of letters, as of society, to be well introduced.

This story, though gloomy in its tone, is fresh, unique, and interesting, and the style good, clear, vivid, strong. It opens with a beautiful description of an old-fashioned country church, with its high and square pews, in which the devout worshippers could not be seen by one another, nor even by the parson. This functionary went to church in top-boots, and, after his short sermon of platitudes, dined with the squire, and spent the remaining days of the week in hunting or fishing, and his evenings in playing cards, quietly drinking his ale, and smoking his pipe. But the hero of the story – Amos Barton – is a different sort of man from his worldly and easy rector. He is a churchman, and yet intensely evangelical and devoted to his humble duties, on a salary of £80, with a large family and a sick wife. He is narrow, but truly religious and disinterested. The scene of the story is laid in a retired country village in the Midland Counties, at a time when the Evangelical movement was in full force in England, in the early part of last century, contemporaneous with the religious revivals of New England; when the bucolic villagers had little to talk about or interest them, before railways had changed the face of the country, or the people had been aroused to political discussions and reforms. The sorrows of the worthy clergyman centered in an indiscreet and in part unwilling hospitality which he gave to an artful, needy, pretentious, selfish woman, but beautiful and full of soft flatteries; which hospitality provoked scandal, and caused the poor man to be driven away to another parish. The tragic element of the story, however, centers in Mrs. Barton, who is an angel, radiant with moral beauty, affectionate, devoted, and uncomplaining, who dies at last from overwork and privations, and the cares of a large family of children.

There is no plot in this story, but its charm and power consist in a vivid description of common life, minute but not exaggerated, which enlists our sympathy with suffering and misfortune, deeply excites our interest in commonplace people living out their weary and monotonous existence. This was a new departure in fiction,--a novel without love-scenes or happy marriages or thrilling adventures or impossible catastrophes. But there is great pathos in this homely tale of sorrow; with no attempts at philosophizing, no digressions, no wearisome chapters that one wishes to skip, but all spontaneous, natural, free, showing reserved power, the precious buds of promise destined to bloom in subsequent works, till the world should be filled with the aroma of its author's genius.

19. Which of the following best tells what this passage is about?

It explains Mr. Blackwood’s thought process when he read the work.

It summarizes the situation found in the first of a series of books.

It illustrates the type of story all readers in 1857 enjoyed.

It follows the life of Amos Barton from beginning to end.

It compares “The Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton” to more commonplace novels with plots and exciting scenes.

20. Why was it important that Mr. Blackwood received the manuscript from Mr. Lewes?

Mr. Lewes was a well-known author and Mr. Blackwood wanted to curry his favor.

Mr. Lewes was a well-known author and Mr. Blackwood trusted his judgment.

Mr. Lewes and Mr. Blackwood were friends and they trusted each other implicitly.

Mr. Blackwood would not have accepted manuscripts from anybody he did not personally know.

It would have been a social faux pas had Mr. Blackwood accepted the manuscript without a proper introduction.

21. What can be inferred from lines 11 – 12 (“He did not know…a woman.”)?

Mr. Blackwood tried to find out, but couldn’t.

Mr. Blackwood ordinarily knew the gender of his writers.

Mr. Blackwood assumed it was written by a woman.

The author uses the phrase in order to prove to the reader that Mr. Blackwood only judges manuscripts on whether or not it was introduced by a well-known author.

The author uses the phrase in order to prove to the reader that Mr. Blackwood only judges manuscripts on the basis of merit, rather than the gender of the writer.

22. As compared to the rector, Amos Barton

Was more pious and devoted to his work.

Would have enjoyed the small pleasures in life

Was a churchman, while the rector was not.

Had a large family and a sick wife, while the rector did not.

Had a certain penchant to melancholy, while the rector did not.

23. What does the “sad fortunes” in the title of the work refer to?

The scandal that took place when Amos cheated on his wife.

The scandalous show of hospitality Amos gave to a strange woman.

Mrs. Barton’s death from overwork and hardship.

The large family of children who was suddenly bereft of their mother.

The boring and unexciting life of Amos.

24. What was so unique about “The Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton?”

Although it had no plot, readers enjoyed the characters because they felt amused by the characters’ minute struggles and commonplace heartaches.

Although it had no plot, readers connected with the characters through vivid descriptions of their lives and misfortunes.

It was the first book in the 1800s to be written by a woman.

It was instantly a literary classic.

Readers could skip a chapter or two and still understand the story.

25. Passage for Questions 25-30

The aqueous rocks, sometimes called the sedimentary, or fossiliferous, cover a larger part of the earth's surface than any others. They consist chiefly of mechanical deposits (pebbles, sand, and mud), but are partly of chemical and some of them of organic origin, especially the limestones. These rocks are stratified, or divided into distinct layers, or strata. The term stratum means simply a bed, or anything spread out or strewed over a given surface; and we infer that these strata have been generally spread out by the action of water, from what we daily see taking place near the mouths of rivers, or on the land during temporary inundations. For, whenever a running stream charged with mud or sand, has its velocity checked (as when it enters a lake or sea, or overflows a plain) the sediment, previously held in suspension by the motion of the water, sinks, by its own gravity to the bottom. In this manner, layers of mud and sand are thrown down one upon another.

If we drain a lake which has been fed by a small stream, we frequently find at the bottom a series of deposits, disposed with considerable regularity, one above the other; the uppermost, perhaps, may be a stratum of peat, next below a more dense and solid variety of the same material; still lower a bed of shell- marl, alternating with peat or sand, and then other beds of marl, divided by layers of clay. Now, if a second pit be sunk through the same continuous lacustrine formation at some distance from the first, nearly the same series of beds is commonly met with, yet with slight variations. For example, some of the layers of sand, clay, or marl, may be wanting, one or more of them having thinned out and given place to others, or sometimes one of the masses first examined is observed to increase in thickness to the exclusion of other beds.

The term "formation," which I have used in the above explanation, expresses in geology any assemblage of rocks which have some character in common, whether of origin, age, or composition. Thus we speak of stratified and unstratified, fresh-water and marine, aqueous and volcanic, ancient and modern, metalliferous and non-metalliferous formations.

In the estuaries of large rivers, such as the Ganges and the Mississippi, we may observe, at low water, phenomena analogous to those of the drained lakes above mentioned, but on a grander scale, and extending over areas several hundred miles in length and breadth. When the periodical inundations subside, the river hollows out a channel to the depth of many yards through horizontal beds of clay and sand, the ends of which are seen exposed in perpendicular cliffs. These beds vary in their mineral composition, or color, or in the fineness or coarseness of their particles, and some of them are occasionally characterized by containing drift-wood. At the junction of the river and the sea, especially in lagoons nearly separated by sand-bars from the ocean, deposits are often formed in which brackish and salt-water shells are included.

25. Which of the following best tells what this passage is about?

Different types of geological processes.

The different properties of sedimentary rocks.

The formation of stratified beds.

How the different strata of a particular rock bed is indicative of the history of the area.

The differences between various assemblages of rocks.

26. According to the passage, how are distinct layers of rock formed?

When there is great flooding and there is more soil in the water than usual.

Only the mouths of rivers have specific characteristics that promote sedimentation.

Layers of mud and sand are created by burrowing wildlife.

When lakes are drained.

Sediment suspended in water sinks to the bottom when the water slows down.

27. What are some of the differences that can be found in different samples of the stratum of the same formation?

Small variations, such as the thickening or thinning of some of the layers.

One may have layers of shell and the other may have layers of clay.

If the second sample is uphill from the first, only the thinning of layers will be seen.

Irregularity in deposits of marl.

There are none; samples taken from the same lacustrine location are effectively identical.

28. This passage would most likely be found in

A geology enthusiast’s magazine.

An introductory textbook to the study of geology.

A chapter in an architectural book, warning about the dangers of building on stratified rock.

A daily newspaper.

A history book regarding the importance of river mouths and various civilizations.

29. From the passage, it can be inferred that

There is only one way that stratified layers can form.

The composition of the beds can tell a lot of the geographical area.

Shells and drift-wood are not formally considered to be part of stratified layers.

Lagoons are found upriver.

The Ganges and the Mississippi have the same type of stratified rock beds.

30. What is the purpose of the last paragraph?

To give real world examples of the theories and processes discussed at the beginning of the passage.

To transition into a chapter about how the stratification of estuaries are much more interesting than lake beds.

To show that the Ganges and the Mississippi are practically identical.

To illustrate a river can create cliffs.

To differentiate between estuaries and lagoons.