All SSAT Upper Level Reading Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Making Inferences In Argumentative Humanities Passages
Adapted from "The Modern Essay" in The Times Literary Supplement by Virginia Woolf (November 30, 1922)
As Mr. Rhys truly says, it is unnecessary to go profoundly into the history and origin of the essay—whether it derives from Socrates or Siranney the Persian—since, like all living things, its present is more important than its past. Moreover, the family is widely spread; and while some of its representatives have risen in the world and wear their coronets with the best, others pick up a precarious living in the gutter near Fleet Street. The form, too, admits variety. The essay can be short or long, serious or trifling, about God and Spinoza, or about turtles and Cheapside. But as we turn over the pages of these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920, certain principles appear to control the chaos, and we detect in the short period under review something like the progress of history.
Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last. In the interval we may pass through the most various experiences of amusement, surprise, interest, indignation; we may soar to the heights of fantasy with Lamb or plunge to the depths of wisdom with Bacon, but we must never be roused. The essay must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world.
We are not told who "Mr. Rhys" is, but we can infer that he is likely to be __________.
a historian
a critic of Woolf's own work
the editor of a volume of essays Woolf is reviewing
an essayist
the editor of a volume of essays Woolf is reviewing
Near the end of the first paragraph, Woolf mentions "these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920"; this lets us know that she is doing a review of a volume of essays, and Rhys is likely the editor of that work.
Example Question #2 : Making Inferences In Argumentative Humanities Passages
Adapted from "The Modern Essay" in The Times Literary Supplement by Virginia Woolf (November 30, 1922)
As Mr. Rhys truly says, it is unnecessary to go profoundly into the history and origin of the essay—whether it derives from Socrates or Siranney the Persian—since, like all living things, its present is more important than its past. Moreover, the family is widely spread; and while some of its representatives have risen in the world and wear their coronets with the best, others pick up a precarious living in the gutter near Fleet Street. The form, too, admits variety. The essay can be short or long, serious or trifling, about God and Spinoza, or about turtles and Cheapside. But as we turn over the pages of these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920, certain principles appear to control the chaos, and we detect in the short period under review something like the progress of history.
Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last. In the interval we may pass through the most various experiences of amusement, surprise, interest, indignation; we may soar to the heights of fantasy with Lamb or plunge to the depths of wisdom with Bacon, but we must never be roused. The essay must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world.
Given the context, we can assume that "Fleet Street" refers to __________.
an street on which many libraries are located
None of the other answers
a street that conducts a great deal of business
a popular tourist attraction
None of the other answers
Woolf refers to essays "pick[ing] up a precarious living" in gutters near Fleet Street, which gives us a negative impression of Fleet Street, but does not tell us that it is a popular tourist destination, a street that conducts a great deal of business, or a street on which many libraries are located.
Example Question #1 : Making Inferences In Argumentative Humanities Passages
Adapted from "The Modern Essay" in The Times Literary Supplement by Virginia Woolf (November 30, 1922)
As Mr. Rhys truly says, it is unnecessary to go profoundly into the history and origin of the essay—whether it derives from Socrates or Siranney the Persian—since, like all living things, its present is more important than its past. Moreover, the family is widely spread; and while some of its representatives have risen in the world and wear their coronets with the best, others pick up a precarious living in the gutter near Fleet Street. The form, too, admits variety. The essay can be short or long, serious or trifling, about God and Spinoza, or about turtles and Cheapside. But as we turn over the pages of these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920, certain principles appear to control the chaos, and we detect in the short period under review something like the progress of history.
Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last. In the interval we may pass through the most various experiences of amusement, surprise, interest, indignation; we may soar to the heights of fantasy with Lamb or plunge to the depths of wisdom with Bacon, but we must never be roused. The essay must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world.
Since Woolf does not identify who "Siranney the Persian" is, we can infer that this is the name of __________.
a figure from antiquity who might be the creator of the modern essay
a writer that Woolf admires
a contemporary of Socrates
a famous writer
a figure from antiquity who might be the creator of the modern essay
Given the pairing of his name with Socrates and the statement that it's unclear whether the modern essay derives from Socrates or from Siranney, we can assume that Siranney must be another figure from antiquity who might be responsible for creating the essay form.
Example Question #181 : Literature Passages
Adapted from "The Modern Essay" in The Times Literary Supplement by Virginia Woolf (November 30, 1922)
As Mr. Rhys truly says, it is unnecessary to go profoundly into the history and origin of the essay—whether it derives from Socrates or Siranney the Persian—since, like all living things, its present is more important than its past. Moreover, the family is widely spread; and while some of its representatives have risen in the world and wear their coronets with the best, others pick up a precarious living in the gutter near Fleet Street. The form, too, admits variety. The essay can be short or long, serious or trifling, about God and Spinoza, or about turtles and Cheapside. But as we turn over the pages of these five little volumes, containing essays written between 1870 and 1920, certain principles appear to control the chaos, and we detect in the short period under review something like the progress of history.
Of all forms of literature, however, the essay is the one which least calls for the use of long words. The principle which controls it is simply that it should give pleasure; the desire which impels us when we take it from the shelf is simply to receive pleasure. Everything in an essay must be subdued to that end. It should lay us under a spell with its first word, and we should only wake, refreshed, with its last. In the interval we may pass through the most various experiences of amusement, surprise, interest, indignation; we may soar to the heights of fantasy with Lamb or plunge to the depths of wisdom with Bacon, but we must never be roused. The essay must lap us about and draw its curtain across the world.
From the context, we can assume that "Lamb" and "Bacon" are __________.
foods that have had essays written about them
essayists that write only about wisdom
essayists that write only about fantasy
essayists that Woolf admires
essayists that Woolf admires
The context of the passage makes it clear that Woolf admires these two essayists, which is why she mentions them by name.
Example Question #3 : Making Inferences In Argumentative Humanities Passages
Adapted from “Aristotle at Afternoon Tea” by Oscar Wilde (1887)
In society, says Mr. Mahaffy, every civilized man and woman ought to feel it their duty to say something, even when there is hardly anything to be said, and, in order to encourage this delightful art of brilliant chatter, he has published a social guide without which no debutante or dandy should ever dream of going out to dine. Not that Mr. Mahaffy's book can be said to be, in any sense of the word, popular. In discussing this important subject of conversation, he has not merely followed the scientific method of Aristotle which is, perhaps, excusable, but he has adopted the literary style of Aristotle for which no excuse is possible. There is, also, hardly a single anecdote, hardly a single illustration, and the reader is left to put the professor's abstract rules into practice, without either the examples or the warnings of history to encourage or to dissuade him in his reckless career. Still, the book can be warmly recommended to all who propose to substitute the vice of verbosity for the stupidity of silence. It fascinates in spite of its form and pleases in spite of its pedantry, and is the nearest approach, that we know of, in modern literature to meeting Aristotle at an afternoon tea.
What can be inferred about the author’s opinion on Aristotle’s writing?
The author has never read Aristotle.
The author finds Aristotle’s work informative and entertaining.
The author laments that so much of Aristotle’s work has been copied and butchered.
The author cannot understand most of what Aristotle says.
The author thinks that the literary style of Aristotle is not desirable or fit for imitation.
The author thinks that the literary style of Aristotle is not desirable or fit for imitation.
The author describes how Mr. Mahaffy employs the “literary style of Aristotle for which no excuse is possible.” From this description it can be inferred that the author finds the writing of Aristotle to be inaccessible, and, additionally, that the author does not think the literary style of Aristotle is fit for imitation. The phrase “no excuse is possible” should clue you in to the author’s meaning.
Example Question #3 : Single Answer Questions
Adapted from The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman (1852)
I have been insisting, in my two preceding Discourses, first, on the cultivation of the intellect, as an end which may reasonably be pursued for its own sake; and next, on the nature of that cultivation, or what that cultivation consists in. Truth of whatever kind is the proper object of the intellect; its cultivation then lies in fitting it to apprehend and contemplate truth. Now the intellect in its present state, with exceptions which need not here be specified, does not discern truth intuitively, or as a whole. We know, not by a direct and simple vision, not at a glance, but, as it were, by piecemeal and accumulation, by a mental process, by going round an object, by the comparison, the combination, the mutual correction, the continual adaptation, of many partial notions, by the employment, concentration, and joint action of many faculties and exercises of mind.
Such a union and concert of the intellectual powers, such an enlargement and development, such a comprehensiveness, is necessarily a matter of training. And again, such a training is a matter of rule. It is not mere application, however exemplary, which introduces the mind to truth, nor the reading many books, nor the getting up many subjects, nor the witnessing many experiments, nor the attending many lectures. All this is short of enough. A man may have done it all, yet be lingering in the vestibule of knowledge. He may not realize what his mouth utters; he may not see with his mental eye what confronts him; he may have no grasp of things as they are, or at least he may have no power at all of advancing one step forward of himself, in consequence of what he has already acquired, no power of discriminating between truth and falsehood, of sifting out the grains of truth from the mass, of arranging things according to their real value, and, if I may use the phrase, of building up ideas. Such a power is the result of a scientific formation of mind; it is an acquired faculty of judgment, of clear-sightedness, of sagacity, of wisdom, of philosophical reach of mind, and of intellectual self-possession and repose—qualities which do not come of mere acquirement. The bodily eye, the organ for apprehending material objects, is provided by nature; the eye of the mind, of which the object is truth, is the work of discipline and habit.
This process of training, by which the intellect, instead of being formed or sacrificed to some particular or accidental purpose, some specific trade or profession, or study or science, is disciplined for its own sake, for the perception of its own proper object, and for its own highest culture, is called Liberal Education; and though there is no one in whom it is carried as far as is conceivable, or whose intellect would be a pattern of what intellects should be made, yet there is scarcely any one but may gain an idea of what real training is, and at least look towards it, and make its true scope and result, not something else, his standard of excellence; and numbers there are who may submit themselves to it, and secure it to themselves in good measure. And to set forth the right standard, and to train according to it, and to help forward all students towards it according to their various capacities, this I conceive to be the business of a University.
Based on the information provided in this passage, which of the following would you expect to be found in the previous chapters of the book from which this passage is drawn?
None of the other answer choices
A defense for the use of Newman's particular religious creed in education.
A plea to end all vocational education.
A diatribe against modernity and modern education.
A discussion that included some defense of learning for the sole sake of learning.
A discussion that included some defense of learning for the sole sake of learning.
The whole topic of this selection is a defense of a general education that is not particular. At the beginning of the selection, Newman explicitly remarks about his previous "discourses." Among the topics there discussed, he apparently included, "The cultivation of the intellect, as an end which may reasonably be pursued for its own sake." Although this does not mean that he completely argued his case for this point, the implication is that he did make some defense for forms of learning that are not immediately useful (but are good in themselves). This does not mean that he necessarily argued against other forms of knowledge. You cannot go this far in your interpretation!
Example Question #18 : Making Inferences About The Author Or Humanities Passage Content
Adapted from a letter of Thomas Jefferson popularly known as “A Dialogue Between the Head and Heart” (October 12th, 1786) in Volume II of Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1830)
(Note: This work is presented like a play having two characters, the “Head” and the “Heart.” In the following passage, we are privy to the words of the “Head.”)
Every thing in this world is matter of calculation. Advance, then, with caution, the balance in your hand. Put into one scale the pleasures which any object may offer, but put fairly into the other the pains which are to follow, and see which preponderates. The making an acquaintance is not a matter of indifference. When a new one is proposed to you, view it all round. Consider what advantages it presents, and to what inconveniences it may expose you. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. The art of life is the art of avoiding pain, and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset. Pleasure is always before us, but misfortune is at our side; while running after that, this arrests us.
The most effectual means of being secure against pain is to retire within ourselves and to suffice for our own happiness. Those which depend on ourselves are the only pleasures a wise man will count on, for nothing is ours, which another may deprive us of. Hence the inestimable value of intellectual pleasures. Ever in our power, always leading us to something new, never cloying, we ride serene and sublime above the concerns of this mortal world, contemplating truth and nature, matter and motion, the laws which bind up their existence, the laws which bind up their existence, and that Eternal Being, who made and bound them up by those laws.
Let this be our employ. Leave the bustle and tumult of society to those who have not talents to occupy themselves without them. Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? Is there so little gall poured into our cup, that we must heed help to drink that of our neighbor? A friend dies, or leaves us: we feel as if a limb was cut off. He is sick: we must watch over him, and participate of his pains. His fortune is shipwrecked: ours must be laid under contribution. He loses a child, a parent, or a partner: we must mourn the loss as if it were our own.
What would the “Head” say to someone who wanted to befriend someone whose company had been enjoyable?
Forget it and return to the marketplace, where you can weigh all things in scales.
This almost certainly should not be done.
In many circumstances, this is the best thing to do.
This could be an okay idea.
None of the other answers
This almost certainly should not be done.
The key sentence for this question is, "Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others." The implication is that making friends leaves us open to forms of sadness that could be avoided. Therefore, in this passage, the "Head" wants to say that we should avoid making friends if possible. However, it does not say that we should go to the marketplace. (Indeed, he would have us leave all society and its bustle.)
Example Question #15 : Extrapolating From The Text In Humanities Passages
Adapted from a letter of Thomas Jefferson popularly known as “A Dialogue Between the Head and Heart” (October 12th, 1786) in Volume II of Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1830)
(Note: This work is presented like a play having two characters, the “Head” and the “Heart.” In the following passage, we are privy to the words of the “Head.”)
Every thing in this world is matter of calculation. Advance, then, with caution, the balance in your hand. Put into one scale the pleasures which any object may offer, but put fairly into the other the pains which are to follow, and see which preponderates. The making an acquaintance is not a matter of indifference. When a new one is proposed to you, view it all round. Consider what advantages it presents, and to what inconveniences it may expose you. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. The art of life is the art of avoiding pain, and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset. Pleasure is always before us, but misfortune is at our side; while running after that, this arrests us.
The most effectual means of being secure against pain is to retire within ourselves and to suffice for our own happiness. Those which depend on ourselves are the only pleasures a wise man will count on, for nothing is ours, which another may deprive us of. Hence the inestimable value of intellectual pleasures. Ever in our power, always leading us to something new, never cloying, we ride serene and sublime above the concerns of this mortal world, contemplating truth and nature, matter and motion, the laws which bind up their existence, the laws which bind up their existence, and that Eternal Being, who made and bound them up by those laws.
Let this be our employ. Leave the bustle and tumult of society to those who have not talents to occupy themselves without them. Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? Is there so little gall poured into our cup, that we must heed help to drink that of our neighbor? A friend dies, or leaves us: we feel as if a limb was cut off. He is sick: we must watch over him, and participate of his pains. His fortune is shipwrecked: ours must be laid under contribution. He loses a child, a parent, or a partner: we must mourn the loss as if it were our own.
What would the “Head” say about the attempts to gain knowledge of political matters and the running of the country?
This is an important aspect of life.
This is not something that a wise man will do.
This is one of the sad things that we must do in life.
None of the other answers
This is better than friendship and therefore should be done.
This is not something that a wise man will do.
The key sentence here is, "Leave the bustle and tumult of society to those who have not talents to occupy themselves without them." The word "society" here means the company of other people in general. However, we can infer that the "Head" definitely would not like the bustle and tumult of political life very much at all. Therefore, it is safe to assume that it would tell us that a wise man does not undertake such matters.
Example Question #31 : Drawing Inferences From Humanities Passages
Adapted from a letter of Thomas Jefferson popularly known as “A Dialogue Between the Head and Heart” (October 12th, 1786) in Volume II of Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, from the Papers of Thomas Jefferson (1830)
(Note: This work is presented like a play having two characters, the “Head” and the “Heart.” In the following passage, we are privy to the words of the “Head.”)
Every thing in this world is matter of calculation. Advance, then, with caution, the balance in your hand. Put into one scale the pleasures which any object may offer, but put fairly into the other the pains which are to follow, and see which preponderates. The making an acquaintance is not a matter of indifference. When a new one is proposed to you, view it all round. Consider what advantages it presents, and to what inconveniences it may expose you. Do not bite at the bait of pleasure, till you know there is no hook beneath it. The art of life is the art of avoiding pain, and he is the best pilot, who steers clearest of the rocks and shoals with which it is beset. Pleasure is always before us, but misfortune is at our side; while running after that, this arrests us.
The most effectual means of being secure against pain is to retire within ourselves and to suffice for our own happiness. Those which depend on ourselves are the only pleasures a wise man will count on, for nothing is ours, which another may deprive us of. Hence the inestimable value of intellectual pleasures. Ever in our power, always leading us to something new, never cloying, we ride serene and sublime above the concerns of this mortal world, contemplating truth and nature, matter and motion, the laws which bind up their existence, the laws which bind up their existence, and that Eternal Being, who made and bound them up by those laws.
Let this be our employ. Leave the bustle and tumult of society to those who have not talents to occupy themselves without them. Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another? Is there so little gall poured into our cup, that we must heed help to drink that of our neighbor? A friend dies, or leaves us: we feel as if a limb was cut off. He is sick: we must watch over him, and participate of his pains. His fortune is shipwrecked: ours must be laid under contribution. He loses a child, a parent, or a partner: we must mourn the loss as if it were our own.
If you know that the “Heart” almost always takes the opposite view to the “Head” in this essay, what do you think the “Heart” will reply?
On the contrary, the joys of life outbalance the afflictions experienced!
On the contrary, the greatest joys of life are found in the company of others!
On the contrary, friends will never betray you!
On the contrary, you yourself have many acquaintances, thus showing that we must indeed interact with other people!
None of the other answers
On the contrary, the greatest joys of life are found in the company of others!
The main focus of this section is the "Head's" contention that social bonds (even friendships) are little more than a source of woe. If the "Heart" takes an opposite view of things, we can infer that it will reply that friends are not a source of woe but instead are among life's greatest joys.
Example Question #11 : Extrapolating From The Text In Humanities Passages
Adapted from Strength and Decency by Theodore Roosevelt (1903)
There is always a tendency among very young men and among boys who are not quite young men as yet to think that to be wicked is rather smart; to think it shows that they are men. Oh, how often you see some young fellow who boasts that he is going to "see life," meaning by that that he is going to see that part of life which it is a thousand fold better should remain unseen!
I ask that every man here constitute himself his brother's keeper by setting an example to that younger brother which will prevent him from getting such a false estimate of life. Example is the most potent of all things. If any one of you in the presence of younger boys, and especially the younger people of our own family, misbehave yourself, if you use coarse and blasphemous language before them, you can be sure that these younger people will follow your example and not your precept. Remember that the preaching does not count if it is not backed up by practice. There is no good in your preaching to your boys to be brave if you run away. There is no good in your preaching to them to tell the truth if you do not. There is no good in your preaching to them to be unselfish if they see you selfish with your wife, disregardful of others. You must feel that the most effective way in which you can preach is by your practice.
Which of these statements would the author of this passage most likely NOT agree with?
It is better to teach through setting a good example than through positive instruction.
It is good to be unselfish and respectful of others.
Instruction is worth little if it is not backed up by example.
Young people have a great urge to experience all aspects of life.
Young people will ignore the vices of their elders.
Young people will ignore the vices of their elders.
In this passage the author states that young people express a desire to experience life, so you can rule out the answer choice “Young people have a great urge to experience all aspects of life” because the author would agree with this statement. The author would also agree that “it is better to teach through setting a good example than through positive instruction” and that “instruction is worth little if it is not backed up by example.” This is evidenced throughout, but most notably in the conclusion when the author states: “You must feel that the most effective way in which you can preach is by your practice.” Finally, the author advises against being selfish or disrespectful in front of young people, so you can assume that the author believes “it is good to be unselfish and respectful of others.” The remaining answer choice, that “young people will ignore the vices of their elders” is correct because the author spends much of the passage advising how to set a good example to young people so they do not mimic the vices of those older than themselves.
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