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SAT Improving Paragraphs Practice Set 3

Read the passage and select the best answers for the questions that follow. Some
questions are about particular sentences or parts of sentences and ask you to improve
sentence structure or word choice. Other questions ask you to consider organization and
development. In choosing answers, follow the requirements of standard written English.
(1).Bizarre and mysterious events are things that happen all the time. (2).We have all had
experiences that seemed supernatural, like unexpectedly meeting a long-lost friend when
it was the day after dreaming about that friend. (3).Some people refer to these types of
events as miracles. (4).Is there any scientific explanation for miracles?
(5).Professor Littlewood defined a miracle as an event with a probability of one in a
million. (6).It is unlikely that you would ever see a miracle, right? (7).Well, Littlewood's
Law of Miracles states that, for most people, miracles happen roughly once a month.
(8).The proof of Littlewood's law is very simple. (9).He started by estimating that most
people are activeat work or school, interacting with other peopleat least 8 hours each
day. (10).During this period, we see and hear things almost constantly; Littlewood
estimated one new event per second. (11).These events add up fast because 1 per second
for 8 hours equals 30,000 per day, or one million in one month.
(12).So if people are exposed to one million events per month, and a miracle is a one-ina-million event, then we all experience a miracle once a month.
1. What is the best way to deal with sentence 1 (reproduced below)?
Bizarre and mysterious events are things that happen all the time.
A. Insert "to us" after "time."
B. Delete "and mysterious."
C. Change "are" to "could be."
D. Delete "are things that."
E. Change "happen" to "once happened."
2. In context, what is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence 2 (reproduced
below)?
We have all had experiences that seemed supernatural, like unexpectedly meeting a longlost friend when it was the day after dreaming about that friend.
A. (as it is now)
B. friend the day after
C. friend because it was the day after
D. friend who we saw the day after
E. friend; it was the day after
3. In context, which of the following is the best phrase to insert at the beginning of
sentence 6?
A. In any case,
B. Littlewood claimed that

SAT Improving Paragraphs Practice Set 3

C. Thus I believe
D. Unless you are lucky,
E. At that rate,
4. Which of the following sentences would be most logical to insert before sentence 5?
A. A math professor named Littlewood has tried to explain miracles mathematically.
B. Some people believe that miracles cannot be explained by science.
C. Professor Littlewood taught mathematics at Cambridge University in England.
D. It would be helpful if we had a scientific law with which to explain miracles.
E. If we all paid closer attention to mathematical principles, perhaps we could explain
miracles.
5. In context, which is the best version of the underlined portion of sentence 11
(reproduced below)?
These events add up fast because 1 per second for 8 hours equals 30,000 per day, or one
million in one month.
A. (as it is now)
B. add up too fast for 1 per second for 8 hours to equal
C. add up fast: 1 per second for 8 hours equals
D. add up to 1 per second for 8 hours because it equals
E. add up fast if 1 per second for 8 hours equals
6. Sentence 12 in the passage is best described as
A. introducing a new topic
B. summarizing previous information
C. presenting a personal opinion
D. providing an additional example
E. stating an objection

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