Victory for the ACT Student Text 15e

88 • R EADING

4. In line 17, the word concurrent

means:

4. (G) Š‹• ‹–‡ ƒ•• ›‘— ˆ‘” –Š‡ †‡ϔ‹‹–‹‘ ‘ˆ a term in the context of the passage. The passage states that the federal government ƒ† –Š‡ •–ƒ–‡• ™‡”‡ ‰‹˜‡ Dz…‘…—””‡–dz authority and that the states, as well as the federal government, passed laws against

F. unsuccessful. G. shared. H. practicable. J. intermittent.

ƒŽ…‘Š‘ŽǤ ‘ǡ Dz…‘…—””‡–dz —•– ‡ƒ •‘‡–Š‹‰ Ž‹‡ DzŒ‘‹–dz ‘” Dz•Šƒ”‡†Ǥdz

PACING

The Reading Test has 40 items and a 35-minute time limit. The fact that there are four sections (with either one passage or two shorter paired passages in each section) of approximately equal length, each with the same number of items, and a 35-minute time limit leads naturally to the conclusion that you should spend eight minutes and 45 seconds on each passage—and that’s a pretty good plan. The following table summarizes the timing for this approach. TASK ALLOTTED TIME TOTAL TIME SPENT ‡ƒ† –Š‡ ϐ‹”•– •‡Ž‡…–‡† ’ƒ••ƒ‰‡ 2.5 minutes 2.5 minutes Answer the accompanying items 6.25 minutes* 8.75 minutes Read the second selected passage 2.5 minutes 11.25 minutes Answer the accompanying items 6.25 minutes* 17.5 minutes Read the third selected passage 2.5 minutes 20 minutes Answer the accompanying items 6.25 minutes* 26.25 minutes Read the fourth selected passage 2.5 minutes 28.75 minutes Answer the accompanying items 6.25 minutes* 35 minutes *Approximately 37 seconds per item ‘–‡ –Šƒ– –Š‡ –ƒ„Ž‡ ”‡ˆ‡”• –‘ Dzϐ‹”•– •‡Ž‡…–‡† ’ƒ••ƒ‰‡ǡdz Dz•‡…‘† •‡Ž‡…–‡† ’ƒ••ƒ‰‡ǡdz ƒ† •‘ ‘Ǥ Š‡•‡ references are to the order in which you decide to do the passages, not to the order in which they are presented in your test booklet. For reasons discussed in the “Game Plan” feature, you might choose to start with the passage that appears last. It’s up to you.

Ace the Pace Here’s our list of four top tips to ace the pace on the Reading Test: • Don’t “speed- read.” The reading test rewards comprehension , not raw speed. • Stay on task. Though “speed- reading” is a bad idea, it is important to cover as many items as possible. • Don’t get bogged down. If no answer is obvious after spending a reasonable amount of time on an item (60 seconds maximum), then eliminate all the wrong answers, guess, and move on. • Don’t become obsessed with time. Pacing guidelines are just that— guidelines. Encourage students to work quickly but accurately and not to dwell on the exact timing.