SAT October 2026 Asia Form A — Reading and Writing Module 1.
27 questions · Free online practice
Open the interactive worksheetQuestion 1
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? ______ the source of a malfunction in a complex electrical system can be a painstaking, time-consuming process: a repair technician may need to test each individual component one by one until the specific part causing the problematic behavior is identified. A. Isolating B. Incorporating C. Adapting D. Fabricating
Question 2
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? Though most studies of the effect of altitude on blood chemistry usually concentrate on people who live above sea level, researchers Suleiman A. Al-Sweedan and Moath Alhaj have instead chosen the ______ path in their recent work of studying the blood of people who live below sea level, in locations such as the California towns of Westmorland and Indio. A. idealistic B. innovative C. predictable D. timeworn
Question 3
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? While once ______, basic computer security training that only teaches recognition of obvious scams cannot provide enough protection against today’s sophisticated fake emails, which employ such subtle deception techniques that many organizations now require their staff to complete comprehensive cybersecurity education programs. A. superficial B. uncommon C. sufficient D. affordable
Question 4
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? In 1970, Maggie Kuhn had to retire from her job as a secretary because the organization she worked for had a mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. Kuhn noted that since her capabilities did not change when she turned sixty-five, such a policy was entirely ______. This observation prompted her to become an advocate for the rights of older people in the United States. A. convoluted B. derivative C. inadvertent D. arbitrary
Question 5
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text? The following text is adapted from the 1940 novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner. In rural Mississippi, a man is riding a horse toward the residence of someone he intends to meet with about a business matter. He was breathing hard but not because he had been galloping. On the contrary, since he had approached near enough to his destination to believe he could have seen smoke if there had been smoke, he had ridden slower and slower. Nevertheless he now sat the horse before the gap in the fence, breathing hard enough through his nose and even sweating a little, looking at the sagging broken-backed cabin set in its inevitable treeless and grassless plot and weathered to the color of an old bee-hive, with that expression of tense and rapid speculation of a man approaching a dud howitzer [artillery] shell. A. To contrast the man’s desire to attend the meeting with his awareness of the risk involved in attending it B. To portray the man’s anxiety about the meeting as reflected by his physical state and demeanor C. To compare the upcoming meeting to a far more serious experience from earlier in the man’s life D. To depict the man’s insistence on meeting despite the inconvenience of traveling on horseback
Question 6
Which choice best describes the main purpose of the text? Modern forestry offers diverse career opportunities that integrate scientific knowledge with hands-on environmental work. Arborists assess tree health and perform maintenance such as pruning to promote safety and prevent problems. Forestry technicians collect data on growth patterns and biodiversity in the wild. Forest ecologists conduct field research and analyze ecosystems to understand how forests respond to changes in weather patterns. With this blend of scientific understanding and practical application, forestry professionals address a variety of complex environmental challenges. A. To explain technological advances in modern forestry and demonstrate how they’ve transformed traditional practices B. To highlight career opportunities in modern forestry and describe how they integrate scientific knowledge and hands-on work C. To compare career opportunities in modern forestry and explain which positions offer the best job security D. To analyze environmental challenges facing forests and describe how modern professionals address these problems
Question 7
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? Although beneficial for forestalling loss of vascular function when leaf veins are blocked, reticulate (netlike) leaf-vein topologies in plants are thought to reduce efficiency in water and sugar transport and to increase vein construction costs relative to branched topologies. Charles A. Price and Joshua S. Weitz assessed these trade-offs by comparing vascular function in the reticulate patterns of Acer griseum (paperbark maple) and other angiosperm leaf veins with that of analogous open-branching patterns. Though reticulation did indeed have added costs, they were offset by its benefits. A. It indicates a research team’s skepticism about the claim stated in the previous sentence that vascular function in plants with reticulate veins is necessarily inferior to that of plants with branching veins. B. It introduces a novel method for evaluating the hypothesis advanced in the previous sentence regarding the causes of vascular impairment in branched-vein topologies. C. It explains an approach that researchers took in a study to determine the impacts of reticulation on vascular function in plants. D. It suggests why researchers were surprised by the finding of the relative costs and benefits of two types of venation patterns.
Question 8
James Fong and his team claim to have discovered a new color, which they named olo . Olo is a very saturated blue-green color that can’t be seen with the human eye under natural conditions. In the human eye, long, medium, and short cones in the retina help sense bright light and color. Olo can only be seen by activating the medium cones alone. Fong and team activated these cones by using a targeted laser technology to stimulate just the medium cone cells. According to the text, how can the color olo be seen? A. By activating only the medium cones in the retina B. By activating the long, medium, and short cones in the retina C. By activating only the long cones in the retina D. By activating both the long and short cones in the retina
Question 9
Biologist Nathalie Stroeymeyt and her team found that black garden ants demonstrated a sophisticated form of “architectural immunity.” When confronted with fungal pathogens, these ants modified their excavation patterns in several strategic ways to speed up nest growth, increase spacing between entrances, and reduce the centrality of key chambers (containing the queen, food, or nursery). The team noted that these architectural modifications weren’t random but specifically arranged to minimize fungal spread. A. A team of scientists noticed that fungal pathogen exposure causes black garden ants to abandon their existing nest structures. B. A study found that black garden ants deliberately modify their nest architecture to keep a harmful fungus from spreading. C. According to a team of biologists, black garden ants build larger nests when exposed to a harmful fungus than they otherwise would build. D. A study noted that black garden ants exposed to a harmful fungus tend to dig longer tunnels in their nests instead of reducing the centrality of the nest’s chambers.
Question 10
Which quotation from Good-Bye to All That most effectively illustrates the claim? Good-Bye to All That is a 1929 autobiography by writer Robert Graves. In the book, Graves explains that his father, though a poet and songwriter himself, did not attempt to influence Graves’s writing style: ______ A. “[My father] has more than once impressed on me almost religiously never to sell for a sum down the complete rights of any work of mine whatsoever.” B. “[My father] never once tried to teach me how to write; he was always more ready to ask advice about his own work than to offer it for mine.” C. “Some of [my father’s] songs I sing without prejudice; when washing up after meals or shelling peas or on similar occasions.” D. “I am glad in a way that my father was a poet. This at least saved me from any false reverence of poets.”
Question 11
Which choice most logically completes the text? Last-mile delivery, the final stage in the delivery of products to customers, is subject to increasing pressure as consumers place greater emphasis on convenience and immediacy, often expecting next-day delivery. In response to this challenge and others, such as the increasing congestion of roadways, delivery companies are continually looking for ways to make last-mile delivery more efficient. One advance in last-mile delivery is the use of aerial drones (autonomous flying vehicles that can deliver small packages). This approach, while promising, also introduces new obstacles (e.g., the limited flight range of drones means that parcel depots must be in close proximity to delivery sites). It is therefore likely that A. delivery companies will continue promising next-day delivery out of a desire to meet consumers’ expectations. B. innovations in the use of drones for last-mile delivery will stall unless delivery companies shift their focus to methods with fewer complications. C. delivery companies will need to keep experimenting with new ideas for last-mile delivery if they hope to keep pace with consumers’ expectations. D. advances in last-mile technologies will slow as delivery companies focus more on meeting customer expectations for increased convenience.
Question 12
Nanoengineers have developed synthesized cadmium sulfide nanoparticles that are used to provide a heat-resistant pigment for paints. As nanotechnology evolves, paint production ______ to evolve as well. A. had likely continued B. will likely continue C. had likely been continuing D. would likely have continued
Question 13
Variation theory’s approach to comparative literary analysis, emphasizing meaningful cross-cultural dialogues and rejecting ethnocentric interpretations, ______ researchers to study similarities among literary traditions while still acknowledging cultural heterogeneity. A. allows B. have allowed C. allow D. allowing
Question 14
Theoretical physicists have begun to develop novel methods for detecting dark matter. Certain approaches ______ on quantum collective phenomena, like phonons in crystals or excitations in superfluid helium, are likely to face significant challenges, acknowledges physicist Kathryn Zurek, unless researchers can reduce background processes that might mimic the signals they’re attempting to detect. A. focusing B. are focused C. focus D. have focused
Question 15
Extensive radiocarbon dating of reed samples from Caral confirmed Ruth Shady Solís’s hypothesis about the Peruvian site’s ______ nearly 5,000 years ago, the ancient city preceded the Olmec civilization to the north by a full millennium, a revelation that fundamentally altered our understanding of urban development in the Western Hemisphere. A. age, built B. age: built C. age built D. age and built
Question 16
How does a clear evening become foggy? First, the ground releases heat, which radiates upward. This causes the air near the ground to cool. ______ tiny water droplets begin to form as the cooling air reaches its dew point and can no longer hold its moisture as invisible vapor. Finally, as more droplets accumulate, a visible layer of fog develops close to the ground. A. Lastly, B. Instead, C. Next, D. Similarly,
Question 17
Many cities invest in public art, displaying works in locations where they can be enjoyed by anyone. On display in Zadar, Croatia, ______ is a marble seawall with pipes that produce sound from waves. A. nevertheless, B. for instance, C. finally, D. however,
Question 18
Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition? India’s prominence as a supplier of information technology services to companies in North America and Europe is a result of several factors, including the country’s investments in technical education, but the most serendipitous is India’s large number of English speakers. English is spoken by more people in India—129 million—than in any nation except the US. ______ only about 10% of Indians speak English. A. However, English is not the first language for most English speakers in India: B. Granted, this numerical advantage is due more to population size than to language penetration: C. Accordingly, 90% of people in India—over one billion people—do not speak the language: D. As a result, careers in information technology services are not available to all people in India:
Question 19
Which choice most effectively uses information from the given sentences to introduce Acoustic Soul to an audience already familiar with India Arie? India Arie is an African American singer and songwriter. The media outlet BBC Music has described her music as a “blend of hip hop, soul and folk [that is] as subtle as it [is] inspired.” Her first studio album, Acoustic Soul, was released in 2001. It features the song “Strength, Courage & Wisdom.” Avery Johnson played bass on the album. A. “Strength, Courage & Wisdom,” a song by singer and songwriter India Arie, is featured on the album Acoustic Soul. B. India Arie’s music has been described as a “blend of hip hop, soul and folk [that is] as subtle as it [is] inspired.” C. Featuring the song “Strength, Courage & Wisdom,” Acoustic Soul is India Arie’s first studio album. D. Avery Johnson played bass on singer and songwriter India Arie’s 2001 album, Acoustic Soul.
Question 20
The student wants to provide an example of one of Catlett’s sculptures. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Elizabeth Catlett (1915–2012) was a celebrated African American artist. She is best known for creating sculptures and prints that explore the Black experience. Rejecting Injustice is a 2003 sculpture by Catlett. Survivor is a 1983 print by Catlett. A. Artist Elizabeth Catlett is best known for creating sculptures and prints that explore the Black experience. B. Elizabeth Catlett, a celebrated artist, was born in 1915. C. The print Survivor was created by celebrated artist Elizabeth Catlett in 1983. D. The sculpture Rejecting Injustice was created by celebrated artist Elizabeth Catlett in 2003.
Question 21
The student wants to emphasize the 2020 population of Tlahuiltepa. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal? While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes: Tlahuiltepa is a municipality in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Municipalities are governmental regions responsible for providing many public services to their residents. One service they provide is traffic control. Tlahuiltepa’s population was 9,086 in 2020. Its population was 9,753 in 2010. Hidalgo is divided into 84 municipalities. A. In 2020, the municipality of Tlahuiltepa had a population of 9,086. B. Home to 9,753 people, the governmental region was responsible for providing traffic control to its population in 2010. C. As a municipality in Hidalgo, Tlahuiltepa is responsible for providing public services to its population. D. As of 2020, Tlahuiltepa was one of 84 municipalities in Hidalgo, Mexico.
Question 22
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? Car manufacturers increasingly label certain vehicle components as “lifetime” parts that supposedly never need replacement. Mechanics tend to greet such assertions ______, as ample experience has shown them that environmental factors, varied driving conditions, and intensive use will likely lead to the eventual failure of these components. A. skeptically B. hastily C. ambivalently D. unreasonably
Question 23
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase? From sculptures like Chicago Picasso by Pablo Picasso, found at Daley Plaza, to street art like Justus Roe’s mural Standing Wave on South State Street, Chicago offers an array of works to ______ the tastes of art lovers. A. supplant B. venerate C. mitigate D. satiate
Question 24
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text? Mexican textile artist Victoria Villasana weaves stories of triumph, using her unique method of applying colorful yarn to photographs of people. In some works, Villasana focuses on celebrating cultural icons who are people of color, as she does in her depiction of musician and composer Nina Simone. However, in other works, Villasana honors ordinary people, as she does in her captivating portrayal of a woman holding a baby. Villasana sees both of these approaches as ways of depicting the power and interconnectedness of all people. A. It explains how yarn has historically been used in art, details how Villasana uses yarn in her artworks, and then comments on the popularity of her work. B. It provides details about Villasana’s artworks, discusses specific examples of her work, and relates them to one of her artistic goals. C. It compares Villasana to other contemporary artists, indicates how two of her works are similar, and then emphasizes Villasana’s enthusiasm for artistic collaboration. D. It introduces Villasana’s cultural background, describes how this background influences her art, and then outlines some of her ideas for future projects.
Question 25
Which choice most effectively uses a quotation from a translation of The Clouds to illustrate the claim? The Clouds is a 423 BCE play by Aristophanes, originally written in ancient Greek. At the time, professional intellectuals called sophists taught paying customers a variety of subjects and sometimes engaged in what would now be described as research. Aristophanes satirizes sophists’ practices and views as foolish, as seen when the character ______ A. Strepsiades encourages his son to learn to be a sophist, saying, “If you have any concern for your father’s patrimony, become one of them.” B. Socrates, a sophist, explains why he studies astronomy while sitting in a basket hanging a few feet off the ground, saying, “I should not have rightly discovered things celestial if I had not suspended the intellect, and mixed the thought in a subtle form with its kindred air.” C. Strepsiades, after taking lessons from a sophist, says to his son, “Approach, that you may know more; and I will tell you a thing, by learning which you will be a man. But see that you do not teach this to any one.” D. Socrates, a sophist, says to a potential customer, “I wish to briefly learn from you if you are possessed of a good memory.”
Question 26
Hopi/Choctaw painter Linda Lomahaftewa largely eschews the European tradition of figurative painting, with its proportionality of human form and depth between foreground and background; instead, she assembles compositions out of abstract motifs common in the ceramics and other traditional arts of the Hopi Tribe, thus ensuring cultural continuity. Cherokee painter America Meredith, on the other hand, works in the European figurative mode; however, she draws her subject matter from cultural traditions that predate the European colonization of the lands of her own tribe, thereby ______ A. suggesting that even when practiced by Indigenous artists, abstract forms of art are ill-suited to portraying tribally specific content. B. transmitting her culture through particularities of content rather than through a tribally specific painting technique. C. casting doubt on the feasibility of developing a new style of painting grounded in traditionally figurative art forms. D. implying her belief that both figurative and abstract art can portray the complexity of tribal identity.
Question 27
Humans inherit specific physical traits (like having square or round nails) from their parents. ______ cats inherit specific physical traits (like having brown or white fur) from their parents. A. In conclusion, B. As a result, C. In other words, D. Similarly,