Free ACT Practice Test

Q1This is an excerpt from <em>Alice and Wonderland</em> by Lewis Carroll (1865)<br/><br/>Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, "and what is the use of a book," thought Alice "without pictures or conversation?"So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.<br/><br/>There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!" (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT-POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.<br/><br/>In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.<br/><br/>The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.<br/><br/>Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled "ORANGE MARMALADE," but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.<br/><br/>"Well!" thought Alice to herself, "after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they'll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn't say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!" (Which was very likely true).<br/><br/>Down, down, down. Would the fall NEVER come to an end! "I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?" she said aloud. "I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think—"(for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a VERY good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over)—"yes, that's about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?" (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say).<br/><br/>What might we infer from this description?<br/><br/>“The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.”

Q2Spanish in the U.S.<br/><br/>Did you know that the United States has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world? With over 37 million speakers the age of five and older the U.S. alone has more inhabitants that speak Spanish than the whole country of Venezuela.<br/><br/>Spanish students don’t have to study abroad to get a good look into Latin-American culture. There are many cities here in the U.S. with (1) thriving Latino (2) districts that any student of Spanish can visit to practice speaking. Miami, for example, is home to a multitude of diverse Hispanics from all over Latin America and Europe. When walking down the streets of Little Havana (one of the predominantly Hispanic <i>barrios</i>, or neighborhoods) you will hear the Cuban Spanish (3) language variety. In Chicago, the place to hear Mexican Spanish is <i>La Villita.</i><br/><br/>Since Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are the fastest growing linguistic group in the United States, it is common to find Spanish-language television channels (such as Univisión and Telemundo) in larger cities. In fact, it’s thanks to these mass media that there are people (although few) that spend their whole lives in the United States without ever having to learn or speak English. The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, even commented once that Hispanics in the U.S. need to “turn off the TV in Spanish” in order to learn English more quickly.<br/><br/>But Governor Schwarzenegger ought to know that, according to linguistic research on (4) bilingualism, families of Hispanic heritage (as well as other non-English speaking families) produce English dominant (or English only) speakers by the third generation after their immigration. That means, it is more common than not that the grandchildren of the Mexican immigrant cannot communicate with their grandparent in Spanish. Thus, the Spanish language does not seem to (5) pose a threat in the U.S. society, contrary to what many politicians often suggest in their political rhetoric.<br/><br/>Which of the following is true according to the passage?

Q3The Northern Cities Vowel Shift and Speakers That Adopt It<br/><br/>“The Northern Cities Vowel Shift” is not adopted by all speakers that live in the geographic regions where it is in progress. Studies (1) illustrate that it is mostly European Americans who show evidence of taking on the shift; however, there is little to no research indicating that speakers of African American Vernacular English employ the shift in their speech. Canadians that share proximity to the Great Lakes with speakers that live in the United States also show no evidence of adopting the shift.<br/><br/>This shift, also called “The Northern Cities Shift” (NCS), is a (2) linguistic phenomenon that occurs in the northern geographic area of the United States known as the Inland North, which includes such cities as Rochester, Buffalo, Detroit, and Chicago. Although prominent among some urban inhabitants of the region, NCS is not considered the standard. (3) Linguists describe one change that occurs in speakers of NCS in which the vowel in <i>milk </i>(4) “shifts” down and back (the tongue is lowered and travels back) from a short “i” to a short “e” that could be represented as <i>melk.</i><br/><br/>William Labov, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the largest contributors to research on the subject of the NCS. His theory is that the shift possibly started when speakers from different (5) language varieties were brought together in the early 1800’s when the Erie Canal was being constructed. People from the East Coast moved to the Great Lakes region, and their dialects mixed resulting in an ongoing shift. However, not all speakers of the Great Lakes region participate in this linguistic variation.<br/><br/>The word “linguistic”, in bold after the (2) in paragraph 2, is closest in meaning to:

Q4The following passage is from a discussion of various ways that living creatures have been classified over the years.<br/><br/>(1) The world can be classified in different ways, depending on one's interests and principles of classification. The classifications (also known as taxonomies) in turn determine which comparisons seem natural or unnatural, which literal or analogical. For example, it has been common to classify living creatures into three distinct groups plants, animals, and humans. According to this classification, human beings are not a special kind of animal, nor animals a special kind of plant.<br/><br/>Thus, any comparisons between the three groups are strictly analogical. Reasoning from inheritance in garden peas to inheritance in fruit flies, and from these two species to inheritance in human beings, is sheer poetic metaphor.<br/><br/>(2) Another mode of classifying living creatures is commonly attributed to Aristotle. Instead of treating plants, animals, and humans as distinct groups, they are nested. All living creatures possess a vegetative soul that enables them to grow and metabolize. Of these, some also have a sensory soul that enables them to sense their environments and move. One species also has a rational soul that is capable of true understanding. Thus, human beings are a special sort of animal, and animals are a special sort of plant. Given this classification, reasoning from human beings to all other species with respect to the attributes of the vegetative soul is legitimate, reasoning from human beings to other animals with respect to the attributes of the sensory soul is also legitimate, but reasoning from the rational characteristics of the human species to any other species is merely analogical. According to both classifications, the human species is unique. In the first, it has a kingdom all to itself; in the second, it stands at the pinnacle of the taxonomic hierarchy.<br/><br/>(3) Homo sapiens is unique. All species are. But this sort of uniqueness is not enough for many (probably most) people, philosophers included. For some reason, it is very important that the species to which we belong be uniquely unique. It is of utmost importance that the human species be insulated from all other species with respect to how we explain certain qualities. Human beings clearly are capable of developing and learning languages. For some reason, it is very important that the waggle dance performed by bees does not count as a genuine language. I have never been able to understand why. I happen to think that the waggle dance differs from human languages to such a degree that little is gained by terming them both languages, but even if language is so defined that the waggle dance slips in, bees still remain bees. It is equally important to some that no other species use tools. No matter how ingenious other species get in the manipulation of objects in their environment, it is absolutely essential that nothing they do count as tool use. I, however, fail to see what difference it makes whether any of these devices such as probes and anvils, etc. are really tools. All the species involved remain distinct biological species no matter what decisions are made. Similar observations hold for rationality and anything a computer might do.<br/><br/>Which of the following comparisons would be legitimate for all living organisms according to the Aristotelian scheme described in paragraph two (2)?<br/><br/>I. Comparisons based on the vegetative soul<br/>II. Comparisons based on the sensory soul<br/>III. Comparisons based on the rational soul

Q5Adapted from "Federalist No. 46. The Influence of the State and Federal Governments Compared" by James Madison in <em>The Federalist Papers</em> by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (1788)<br/><br/>I proceed to inquire whether the federal government or the state governments will have the advantage with regard to the predilection and support of the people. Notwithstanding the different modes in which they are appointed, we must consider both of them as substantially dependent on the great body of the citizens of the United States. I assume this position here as it respects the first, reserving the proofs for another place. The federal and state governments are in fact but different agents and trustees of the people, constituted with different powers, and designed for different purposes. The adversaries of the Constitution seem to have lost sight of the people altogether in their reasonings on this subject, and to have viewed these different establishments not only as mutual rivals and enemies, but as uncontrolled by any common superior in their efforts to usurp the authorities of each other. These gentlemen must here be reminded of their error. They must be told that the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone, and that it will not depend merely on the comparative ambition or address of the different governments, whether either, or which of them, will be able to enlarge its sphere of jurisdiction at the expense of the other. Truth, no less than decency, requires that the event in every case should be supposed to depend on the sentiments and sanction of their common constituents. <br/><br/>Which of the following is true regarding the author’s perspective on the differences between federal and state governments?

Q6Spanish in the U.S.<br/><br/>Did you know that the United States has the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world? With over 37 million speakers the age of five and older the U.S. alone has more inhabitants that speak Spanish than the whole country of Venezuela.<br/><br/>Spanish students don’t have to study abroad to get a good look into Latin-American culture. There are many cities here in the U.S. with (1) thriving Latino (2) districts that any student of Spanish can visit to practice speaking. Miami, for example, is home to a multitude of diverse Hispanics from all over Latin America and Europe. When walking down the streets of Little.<br/><br/>Havana (one of the predominantly Hispanic <i>barrios</i>, or neighborhoods) you will hear the Cuban Spanish (3) language variety. In Chicago, the place to hear Mexican Spanish is <i>La Villita.</i>Since Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens are the fastest growing linguistic group in the United States, it is common to find Spanish-language television channels (such as Univisión and Telemundo) in larger cities. In fact, it’s thanks to these mass media that there are people (although few) that spend their whole lives in the United States without ever having to learn or speak English. The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, even commented once that Hispanics in the U.S. need to “turn off the TV in Spanish” in order to learn English more quickly.<br/><br/>But Governor Schwarzenegger ought to know that, according to linguistic research on (4) bilingualism, families of Hispanic heritage (as well as other non-English speaking families) produce English dominant (or English only) speakers by the third generation after their immigration. That means, it is more common than not that the grandchildren of the Mexican immigrant cannot communicate with their grandparent in Spanish. Thus, the Spanish language does not seem to (5) pose a threat in the U.S. society, contrary to what many politicians often suggest in their political rhetoric.<br/><br/>The word “bilingualism”, in bold after the (4) in paragraph 4, can best be defined as:

Q7DOMA and Its Demise<br/><br/>Many same-sex couples, as well their allies, celebrated when “The Defense of Marriage Act”, known as DOMA, was overturned by the Supreme Court in the summer of 2013. Homosexual couples, who were legally recognized as a (1) union in their state of residence, were finally able to enjoy the same benefits at the national level that their heterosexual counterparts have always enjoyed. Nevertheless, the United States has a long way to go before marriage equality is universal.<br/><br/>DOMA was a (2) federal law that was first enacted in 1996 by the Clinton Administration. It sought to block same-sex couples that were legally married (in states that recognized same-sex marriages), from receiving federal marriage benefits. Under DOMA, the government determined that the word “spouse” was to refer to a heterosexual married couple, thus effectively excluding same-sex spouses from the laws applicable to opposite-sex spouses. Therefore, heterosexual married couples were protected under federal law and homosexual married couples were left unprotected.<br/><br/>Countless same-sex couples felt (3) discriminated against under DOMA and believed that the law was (4) unconstitutional. The Obama Administration, years later, decided it would no longer justify DOMA in court. During the first year of Obama’s second term in office, the law was struck down, and now same-sex couples, who reside in states like Hawaii and Iowa, share the same federal benefits as opposite-sex couples. However, until all of the states in the Union make same-sex marriage legal, the US will not get first place in the (5) race toward equality for everyone.<br/><br/>According to paragraph 3, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT:

Q8Passage 1<br/><br/><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Because it is filled with contradictions, performance is </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>also filled with risk. This is the domain of stage fright. The </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>actor is aware that appearing in front of an audience is a </td></tr><tr><td>Line </td><td>scary proposition. Maintaining the reality of the character is, </td></tr><tr><td>5 </td><td>in itself, a fragile affair; it demands of the actor a series of </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>complex transformations. The actor has the unique problem </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>of hiding and showing at the same time. The actor’s conscious </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>fear is not about making a mistake, but about allowing the </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>audience to see something that it is not supposed to see: </td></tr><tr><td>10 </td><td>namely, the performer’s fear, or stage fright. </td></tr></tbody> </table><br/><br/>Passage 2<br/><br/><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td>The term “stage fright” has largely dropped out of use, </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>because we know now that dwelling on something this </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>malevolent gives it power. If I tell you not to be afraid, </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>you may dwell on your fear. If I say, do not think of </td></tr><tr><td>15 </td><td>fast-food burgers under any circumstances, a line of </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>them will parade through your mind. The key to most </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>fears is substitution. On the simplest level, you replace </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>the ogre with something less menacing to fill your </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>consciousness. If you will imagine yourself to be a </td></tr><tr><td>20 </td><td>host rather than an actor, and think more about the </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>comfort of your listeners than their verdicts, everything </td></tr><tr><td></td><td>will fall into place. </td></tr></tbody> </table><br/><br/>In the context of Passage 1, the phrase "Maintaining the reality of the character" (line 4) most directly refers to

Q9Many same-sex couples, as well their allies, celebrated when “The Defense of Marriage Act”, known as DOMA, was overturned by the Supreme Court in the summer of 2013. Homosexual couples, who were legally recognized as a (1) union in their state of residence, were finally able to enjoy the same benefits at the national level that their heterosexual counterparts have always enjoyed. Nevertheless, the United States has a long way to go before marriage equality is universal.<br/><br/>DOMA was a (2) federal law that was first enacted in 1996 by the Clinton Administration. It sought to block same-sex couples that were legally married (in states that recognized same-sex marriages), from receiving federal marriage benefits. Under DOMA, the government determined that the word “spouse” was to refer to a heterosexual married couple, thus effectively excluding same-sex spouses from the laws applicable to opposite-sex spouses. Therefore, heterosexual married couples were protected under federal law and homosexual married couples were left unprotected.<br/><br/>Countless same-sex couples felt (3) discriminated against under DOMA and believed that the law was (4) unconstitutional. The Obama Administration, years later, decided it would no longer justify DOMA in court. During the first year of Obama’s second term in office, the law was struck down, and now same-sex couples, who reside in states like Hawaii and Iowa, share the same federal benefits as opposite-sex couples. However, until all of the states in the Union make same-sex marriage legal, the US will not get first place in the (5) race toward equality for everyone.<br/><br/>The word “federal”, in bold after the (2) in paragraph 2, is closest in meaning to:

Q10Identify the attitude of the following writing sample: When I walked into the kitchen, I was immediately transported back to my childhood. The gingham curtains, old-fashioned stove, simple table and chairs, and wonderful aromas reminded me strongly of my grandmother's kitchen years and years ago.