Test Prep ACT Section Three: Reading ACT Section 3: Reading Exam Questions in PDF

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

<6>:

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

<7>:

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

The most logical sequence of sentences for paragraph 2 is:

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

The author's use of italics is designed to do which of the following?

DIRECTIONS: In the passage below, certain phrases are underlined and numbered <x>. The question will present alternatives for the underlined part. In most cases, you are to choose the one that best expresses the idea, makes the statement appropriate for standard written English, or is worded most consistently with the style and tone of the passage as a whole. If you think the original version is the best, choose "NO CHANGE".

Sigmund Freud

[§1] The father and originator of <1> psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856­1939) is largely responsible for the way we understand ourselves, as creatures, with <2> conflicting "selves" and desires. Freud posited the notion that the mind is teeming with "psychic energy," and that our personality is shaped largely by the interactions of the levels of the mind. Among Freud's most important contributions to modern psychology and the contemporary understanding of the self is his theory of the unconscious.

[§2] (1) According to Freud, the mind is much like an iceberg. (2) Most of our mind's activities, then, occur beneath the surface, in the unconscious and beyond our knowing. (3) The conscious is the part of the mind of which we are aware; it is the tip of the iceberg that is visible above the water. (4) The unconscious, on the other hand, <3> is all that is below the surface ­ the thoughts, feelings, and desires that we are not aware of but that nonetheless affect our behavior.

[§3] Freud believed that the unconscious is deterministic. That is, our behaviors are caused (determined) by thoughts and impulses deep in our unconscious ­ of which thoughts and impulses we are not aware. <4> This is related to the phenomenon called "Freudian slip". <5> Unless we psychoanalyze ourselves, we may never be aware of the hidden reasons for our actions. This suggests that the notion of free will might have been <6>an illusion and that our choices are governed by hidden mental processes over which we have no control.

[§4] Repression is the act of pushing our conflicts to the unconscious. So that <7> we are no longer aware of them. It is our chief defense mechanism (a way to avoid conflict between our true desires and our sense of right and wrong). Freud believed that too much repression can lead to neurosis, a mental disorder resulting in depression or abnormal behavior, sometimes with physical symptoms but with no evidence of disease.

Which of the following choices provides the most logical and effective transition from the third to the fourth paragraph?