Drill 3 · Reading & Writing · Words in Context
SAT Reading & Writing: Words in Context (Drill 3) is a Reading & Writing practice drill covering Words in Context. It contains 5 original questions created by Brian Stewart, a Barron's test prep author with over 20 years of tutoring experience.
SAT Words in Context questions test precise vocabulary and contextual reasoning by asking you to select the word that best completes a sentence. This drill draws on passages from social science, literature, and science, requiring attention to both meaning and register.
Question 1. Historian Kendi argues that discriminatory policies' effects are not merely historical but ________: they continue to shape economic outcomes, educational access, and health disparities today.
Which is the most logical and precise word?
Explanation: 'Persistent' means continuing over a prolonged period, matching 'continue to shape.' 'Theoretical' contradicts 'measurable ways.'
Question 2. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is ________ with its natural surroundings: the terraces echo the layered rock ledges, and a stream runs beneath the structure.
Which is the most logical and precise phrase?
Explanation: Terraces 'echo' rock ledges and a stream flows beneath, the architecture complements its environment. 'In harmony' captures this.
Question 3. From Cather's My Ántonia: The narrator sits in warm sunshine, feels warm earth, lies 'listening, drowsing.'
What does 'drowsing' most nearly mean?
Explanation: Warm sunshine, warm earth, passive listening, all suggest a relaxed, half-asleep state. 'Dozing' captures this.
Question 4. Unlike sites yielding only fragmentary evidence, Pompeii provides an exceptionally ________ record of daily life, because Vesuvius buried the city so quickly that homes, shops, and even meals were preserved intact.
Which is the most logical and precise word?
Explanation: Contrasted with 'fragmentary,' and supported by preservation of homes, shops, and meals. 'Comprehensive' means thorough and complete.
Question 5. Neuroscientist Eagleman proposes our experience of time is remarkably ________: the same hour can feel like minutes during engagement or stretch into days during boredom.
Which is the most logical and precise word?
Explanation: Time feeling shorter or longer depending on context = flexible, changeable. 'Malleable' means capable of being shaped.