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ACT English Practice Test 2

This passage provides a sample ACT English practice test with 15 multiple choice questions and explanations for the answers. It tests skills in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, organization, and context clues. The test covers a range of English language concepts.

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255 views

ACT English Practice Test 2

This passage provides a sample ACT English practice test with 15 multiple choice questions and explanations for the answers. It tests skills in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, organization, and context clues. The test covers a range of English language concepts.

Uploaded by

yoomichin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ACT English practice test 2

1.
A. NO CHANGE
B. best friend, and I
C. best friend and I
D. best friend, and I-

2.
F. NO CHANGE
G. before, the
H. before. The
J. before, yet the

3. Which choice best conveys the idea that the narrator


and his friend held their flashlights nervously?
A. NO CHANGE
B. clutching
C. carrying
D. donning

4. Which of the following true statements, if added here,


would most effectively continue the narration of what
happened during the summer walks the friends took?
F. We were friends throughout most of middle school and
high school.
G. The tunnel was wide enough for two tracks, but it
contained only one.
H. Sometimes, we'd cast eerie shadows on the walls or
listen to the echo of our voices in the long tunnels.
J. Many rail lines have been shut down since the advent
of trucking in the U.S.
5.
A. NO CHANGE
B. purpose real
C. purpose: really,
D. purposely: really,

6.
F. NO CHANGE
G. they're
H. their
J. it is

7. For the sake of the logic and coherence of the


paragraph, Sentence 6 should be placed:
A. where it is now.
B. before Sentence 1.
C. before Sentence 2
D. before Sentence 4.

8.
F. NO CHANGE
G. Being raised in
H. Raising a family
J. Where I grew up

9. The writer wants to stress the amount of time that had


passed since his city had first been settled by
Europeans. Assuming that the capitalization would be
adjusted as needed, where should the underlined portion
be placed?
A. Where it is now
B. After the word teacher
C. After the word us
D. After the word settled
10.
F. NO CHANGE
G. region
H. region;
J. region is

11.
A. NO CHANGE
B. and
C. but
D. then

12.
F. NO CHANGE
G. Moving right along, the
H. Meanwhile, the
J. The

13.
A. NO CHANGE
B. commemorate
C. commemorating
D. in memoriam

14. Which of the following alternatives to the underlined


portion would NOT be acceptable?
F. hidden
G. lesser-known
H. classified
J. secluded

15.
A. NO CHANGE
B. to: give presentations
C. to give: presentations
D. to give presentations
Answers and Explanations
1. Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
C If you can't cite a reason to use a comma, don't use one. This particular comma separates the subject from its verb, so
eliminate (A). Choice (B) adds a comma unnecessarily, so it can also be eliminated. Choice (D) uses a single dash, which
requires a complete idea before it. After school let out, my best friend and I is not a complete idea, so (D) can be eliminated.
Only (C), containing no punctuation, remains.

2. Correct Answer: H
Explanation:
H Stop punctuation is used in the answer choices, so use the Vertical Line Test. The first part of the sentence, From the little
trail beside the school, we'd climb down to the old railway tunnel that had gone dark many years before, is complete. The
second part of the sentence, that pitch darkness was terrifying and mysterious, is also complete. These ideas must therefore
be separated by Stop punctuation, which eliminates (F) and (G). Choice (J) contains Stop punctuation (comma + FANBOYS),
but it introduces a contrast with the word yet that does not make sense in this context. Only (H) works.

3. Correct Answer: B
Explanation:
B Identify the purpose stated in the question that the correct choice is supposed to fulfill. It asks for a word that indicates that
the narrator and his friend held their flashlights nervously. Choices (A) and (C) are neutral and therefore do not contain any
hint of this nervousness. Choice (D) does not make sense in this context. Only (B), clutching, fulfills the purpose.

4. Correct Answer: H
Explanation:
H Pay close attention to the question, which asks for what happened during the summer walks. Only (H) continues the
narration in an appropriate way. Choices (F), (G), and (J) break the narrative flow. Also, the word Sometimes in (H) provides
the necessary contrast to the word always in the following sentence.

5. Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
C Since there are colons in the answer choices, use the Vertical Line Test to start. The first part of the sentence (up to the
word purpose) is complete, as is the second part of the sentence (from really onward). Therefore, Go punctuation cannot work,
eliminating (A) and (B). Choice (D) changes the meaning, so it can also be eliminated. Choice (C) can work because a colon
requires only a complete idea before it: The idea after it can be complete or incomplete.

6. Correct Answer: F
Explanation:
F Choices (F), (G), and (H) sound the same, but make sure you are using the correct pronoun for the context. They're is a
contraction of they are, which cannot work in this context, and their is a possessive pronoun, which also cannot work,
eliminating (G) and (H). Choice (J) does not make sense in this context, so only (F) remains as the correct answer.

7. Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
C The word though in Sentence 6 indicates a contrast with whatever sentence comes before it. Therefore, look for a sentence
that contains aimless visits with which this sentence will contrast. Sentence 1 provides these aimless visits, stating that the
narrator and his friend didn't go down into the tunnel with any specific purpose. Therefore, the sentence should go before
Sentence 2, as suggested in (C).

8. Correct Answer: J
Explanation:
J The subject of this sentence is history, so the modifier that comes before it should modify that word. Choices (F), (G), and (H)
all create modifiers that describe the narrator or something other than history, so they can be eliminated. Only (J) provides an
appropriate modifier for history.

9. Correct Answer: D
Explanation:
D As written, this sentence suggests that the history teacher gave this bit of information to his students four hundred years
earlier, which can't work, eliminating (A). Four centuries earlier must refer to something about the Dutch settlers, and only (D)
provides a placement that will create the appropriate reference.

10. Correct Answer: F


Explanation:
F There is Stop punctuation in the answers, so use the Vertical Line Test. The first part of the sentence, In fact…region, is
complete, but the second part of the sentence, an area…New York, is incomplete. Stop punctuation cannot work, eliminating
(H), but there must be some pause, eliminating (G). Choice (J) makes the sentence incomplete, so it too can be eliminated.
Only (F) works because a colon can be used only after a complete idea but can be followed by either an incomplete or
complete idea.

11. Correct Answer: C


Explanation:
C This sentence is incomplete as written, so (A) can be eliminated. Choice (D) creates the same problem. Of the remaining
two choices, (C) is better because it indicates a contrast between the ruthless behavior of the Dutch and the fact that they held
on to many Lenape names.

12. Correct Answer: J


Explanation:
J All answer choices contain the word the. Choices (F), (G), and (H) put some information before that word, but none of that
information is necessary. Therefore, in order to make the sentence as concise as possible, (J) is the best answer.

13. Correct Answer: A


Explanation:
A This part of the sentence describes the word influence, and (A) is appropriate because that influence is commemorated by
the names. Choices (B), (C), and (D) cannot work in the context, so they can be eliminated.

14. Correct Answer: H


Explanation:
H This sentence describes corridors of the city that are not well-known, and (F), (G), and (J) provide reasonable synonyms.
Choice (H), classified, may be a synonym for secret, but it is not an appropriate synonym in this context. Choice (H) is
therefore correct because it would NOT be acceptable.

15. Correct Answer: D


Explanation:
D A colon must be preceded by a complete idea. Neither we were invited to nor we were invited to give are complete ideas, so
(B) and (C) can be eliminated. Eliminate (A) because it inserts a comma where there is not a good reason to insert one. Only
(D), containing no punctuation, remains and is the best answer.
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