Set 1 Questions ❮ 31

81. As used in line 3, the word “inextricably” most nearly means

(A) audaciously
(B) extravagantly
(C) thoroughly
(D) convulsively
(E) pretentiously

82. Based on the passage, the author would most likely describe the lives
of women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as
(A) spontaneous
(B) expeditious
(C) penitential
(D) precarious
(E) ambidextrous

83. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?

(A) Even with an education, it was difficult for women to earn a living
of their own.
(B) Marriages between people of different economic classes were rare.
(C) Austen was never able to depend on her family for assistance.
(D) Women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could work only
in the home.
(E) Austen resented her father for his choice of profession.

84. As used in line 8, the word “recourse” most nearly means

(A) censure
(B) option
(C) jargon
(D) anecdote
(E) bulwark
32 ❯ McGraw-Hill’s 500 SAT Critical Reading Questions

Passage 1
The South Bronx has experienced a significant urban renewal and is nearly
unrecognizable from the nadir seen in the 1970s. This renewal is evident, starting
with rehabilitated and new residential structures, including multifamily town
homes, apartment buildings, and prefabricated ranch-style homes. Much of the
new development has taken place in vacant lots in traditionally poor areas. 5
Popular commercial restaurants and retail chains, such as Applebee’s, Mar-
shalls, Staples, and Target, have opened stores, which have turned many formally
dismal areas into desirable places to live.
Other efforts to improve traditionally poor neighborhoods are underway, such
as petitions for granting landmark status to the Grand Concourse, in recognition 10
of the area’s Art Deco architecture. The Yankees baseball franchise also recently
razed “the house that Ruth built” and replaced it with a state-of-the-art stadium,
which was completed in time for the start of the 2009 baseball season. Along with
the new billion-dollar field, athletic fields, bicycle and walking paths, stores, res-
taurants, and a new Metro-North railroad station will be opened. 15
The South Bronx is also home to both for-profit and nonprofit organizations
that offer a range of professional training and other educational programs, as well
as a renewed grassroots art scene. Clearly, the South Bronx is experiencing a much-
deserved renaissance, both of the physical appearance of the borough and for its
residents. 20

Passage 2
Although there have been considerable improvements since the 1970s, the
South Bronx is still a long way from sustained prosperity. It contains over half of
the Bronx’s housing projects, and nearly half of the people in the South Bronx eke
out an existence below the poverty line.
Many of the problems that have plagued the area since the “Bronx is burning” 25
days, such as drug trafficking, gang activity, and prostitution, are still common. In
fact, the South Bronx still has some of the highest violent crime rates in all of New
York City.
Certainly, there are pockets of progress. The South Bronx has experienced sub-
stantial new building construction and renovations in the 2000s, and national 30
retailers have begun to open stores in the borough, attracting new business and
residents.
Nevertheless, this is largely true of areas within or around the outskirts of tra-
ditionally stable, affluent areas of the Bronx, such as the city blocks directly sur-
rounding Yankee Stadium, as well as the Riverdale neighborhood, which is far 35
away in the northwest part of the borough. The fact is, most of the areas that fell
into terrible decay in the late twentieth century remain lost in an endless spiral of
poverty.
 Set 1 Questions ❮ 33

85. Which one of the following statements most accurately expresses the main
idea of Passage 1?
(A) The South Bronx is home to numerous for-profit and nonprofit
organizations.
(B) The Grand Concourse should be granted landmark status.
(C) A socioeconomic revitalization is taking place in the South Bronx.
(D) The Yankees baseball franchise is the savior of the South Bronx.
(E) Manhattan residents flock to the South Bronx for its renewed
grassroots art scene.

86. As used in line 8 of Passage 1, the word “dismal” most nearly means
(A) miserable
(B) seditious
(C) exemplary
(D) blithe
(E) vociferous

87. Which of the following statements most accurately describes the

relationship between Passage 1 and Passage 2?
(A) Passage 1 is a direct rebuttal of the ideas in Passage 2.
(B) Both passages arrive at the same conclusion through different
analyses.
(C) Passage 1 provides an alternative theory to that of Passage 2.
(D) The passages address the same topic but arrive at different
conclusions.
(E) Passage 2 provides the evidence to support the conclusions in
Passage 1.

88. Compared with the author of Passage 1, the author of Passage 2 displays
an attitude that is
(A) pessimistic
(B) supercilious
(C) appreciative
(D) flippant
(E) mendacious