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Flashcards: Humanities Passages
Adapted from Walden by Henry Thoreau (1854)
Still we live meanly, like ants; it is error upon error, and clout upon clout, and our best virtue has for its occasion a superfluous and evitable wretchedness. Our life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail. In the midst of this chopping sea of civilized life, such are the clouds and storms and quicksands and thousand-and-one items to be allowed for, that a man has to live, if he would not founder and go to the bottom and not make his port at all, by dead reckoning, and he must be a great calculator indeed who succeeds. Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion.
Our life is like a German Confederacy, made up of petty states, with its boundary forever fluctuating, so that even a German cannot tell you how it is bounded at any moment. The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense, by want of calculation and a worthy aim, as the million households in the land; and the only cure for it, as for them, is in a rigid economy, a stern and more than Spartan simplicity of life and elevation of purpose. It lives too fast. Men think that it is essential that the Nation have commerce, and export ice, and talk through a telegraph, and ride thirty miles an hour, without a doubt, whether they do or not, but whether we should live like baboons or like men is a little uncertain. If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads? And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you.
The author repeats the words “simplicity” and “simplify” in the first paragraph in order to __________.
imply that modern society is too simple
mimic his critics in a derogatory way
emphasize what he sees as the solution to a problem
convey that working toward simplicity takes a lot of hard work
suggest that this is the only solution that has been put forward, and it is ineffective
All PSAT Critical Reading Resources
For many students, the PSAT is a chance to test-drive the SAT. It is an opportunity to exercise those skills that are necessary for a high score - to determine where you can improve before you take the real SAT, as well as where you currently excel.
Some high school students approach the PSAT like a practice test. After all, it is a fantastic tool for focusing your studies and prep appropriately. However, unlike other practice exams that may not demand your full attention, the PSAT is also your ticket to a National Merit Scholarship. A National Merit Scholarship can provide you with money for college, as well as resume prestige. Do not discount the PSAT just because it might seem like a practice test.
The PSAT Critical Reading exam, for instance, is one section where thorough prep is especially valuable. The ability to read with intention is a skill that you will need to master now, for the PSAT, and later, for the ACT and SAT, your college and high school courses, and your future career. The energy you invest in developing your critical reading skills will serve you well in many regards.
This portion of the PSAT, and the PSAT as a whole, will change in the fall of 2015 to better reflect the Revised SAT. The Critical Reading section will consist of 47 questions, for which you will be given 60 minutes. You will be asked to read four stand-alone passages, as well as a pair of selections. Each passage will be several hundred words in length. You might see selections that discuss topics in history, science, or social science, or you might receive a literature excerpt. No matter the content, your task is to extract meaningful information and draw conclusions. This might mean identifying a vocabulary word based on its context, or evaluating which statements support the main idea. Can you draw conclusions from and make inferences based on written material? Are you a critical reader?
The problem, of course, is that it is not easy to become a great critical reader. You simply cannot turn into an accomplished literary critic overnight. Instead, you have to develop your critical reading skills slowly, over time. This is more akin to becoming a champion basketball player than it is to memorizing facts.
The best way to prepare for the PSAT Critical Reading exam is to challenge yourself now. You will want to spend time seeking out and reading material that you might not encounter otherwise. If you work with tutors, you can take what you read and discuss the material together. You will be forced to synthesize the content and deliver it in your own words, thus encouraging your understanding. With these techniques, your PSAT Critical Reading score can reach its maximum potential, and you will be well on your way to ultimate success on the SAT and ACT!
