ACT English Practice Test

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 1, paragraph 1: The empty lot on Fifth Street had been fenced off for [years, nobody] could remember what used to stand there.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 1, paragraph 2: [Gardening has many health benefits.] Last spring, three neighbors asked the city for permission to plant vegetables on the lot. After two months of meetings, the city agreed and lent them the land for free.

Which choice most effectively introduces the paragraph's focus on how the garden began?

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 1, paragraph 3: Over three weekends, the volunteers [worked together cooperatively as a team] to clear away broken glass and weeds.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 1, paragraph 3: Each of the raised beds [were] built from recycled wood donated by a local hardware store.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 1, paragraph 3: Each of the raised beds was built from recycled wood donated by a local hardware store. The volunteers filled the beds with soil and planted tomatoes, beans and squash.

The writer is considering adding this sentence after the first sentence: "Recycled wood is sometimes treated with chemicals."

Should the writer make this addition?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 1, paragraph 4: By June, the [gardens] first tomatoes had ripened.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 1, paragraph 4: Neighbors who had never spoken to each other before [hung out and stuff] while they weeded the rows.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 1, paragraph 5: Last summer the garden [produces] more than four hundred pounds of vegetables.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 1, paragraph 5: The volunteers had expected to grow food only for their own families. [For example,] they ended up giving more than half of the harvest to a local food pantry.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 1 tells how three neighbors turned an empty lot into a community garden: asking the city for the land, building raised beds, harvesting their first crops, and giving food to a pantry.

Suppose the writer's goal had been to write an essay giving step-by-step instructions for starting a community garden in any town. Would this essay accomplish that goal?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 2, paragraph 1: In 1817, Karl [Drais a German inventor, built] a two-wheeled "running machine."

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 2, paragraph 1: The running machine had two wheels but no pedals[, and Drais lived in the city of Mannheim]. Riders sat on a wooden frame and pushed themselves along with their feet.

The writer is considering deleting the bracketed portion and ending the sentence with a period after "pedals."

Should the writer make this deletion?

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 2, paragraph 1: Riders sat on a wooden frame and pushed themselves along with their feet[, moving forward in a forward direction].

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 2, paragraph 2: In the 1860s, inventors attached pedals to the front wheel. Riders loved the new machines, but [its] iron wheels made for a bumpy ride.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 2, paragraph 2: Because the ride was so rough, the machines earned a memorable [nickname: the] "boneshaker."

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 2, paragraph 3: The high-wheeler of the 1870s was fast. [Consequently,] it was also dangerous: riders sat so high that a sudden stop could throw them over the handlebars.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 2, paragraph 4: The safety bicycle, with its chain drive and two wheels of equal size, [were] much easier to ride.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 2, paragraph 4: Air-filled rubber tires, introduced in the late 1880s, [softened] the ride over cobblestone streets.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 2 traces how the bicycle changed from the running machine of 1817 to the safety bicycle with air-filled tires of the late 1880s.

Which choice would most effectively conclude the essay?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 2, paragraph 5: Bicycles gave people a cheap way to travel, to exercise, and [for visiting] friends in nearby towns.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 3, paragraph 1: When I first tried to bake [bread I] followed the recipe exactly.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 1: The loaf came out of the oven flat and dense, like a [brick that was dense and heavy].

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 2: My grandmother looked at the flat loaf and explained that [I had not let the dough rise long enough].

Which choice provides the most relevant explanation of why the loaf failed?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 3, paragraph 3: The next weekend, I [try] again, this time waiting two full hours before baking.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 3: My grandmother, [who had baked bread every week for fifty years,] watched me shape the dough and nodded.

Which choice best shows that the grandmother is an experienced baker whose approval matters?

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 4: When the timer rang, I opened the oven. [I could smell the bread from the hallway.] The loaf had risen high above the pan.

If the writer deleted the bracketed sentence, the paragraph would mainly lose:

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 4: The loaf had risen [up high above] the edge of the pan.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 4: The loaf had risen above the edge of the pan. [The crust was golden, and the inside was soft and airy.]

The writer wants to show clearly that the second attempt succeeded. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 3, paragraph 5: Baking bread taught me [that good things often take time].

Which choice best concludes the essay by connecting to the lesson the writer learned from waiting for the dough to rise?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 3, paragraph 5: Now I know that the dough needs time to do [it's] work.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 4, paragraph 1: The Brooklyn Bridge, [which opened in 1883 was] the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 4, paragraph 2: To build the towers, workers dug inside huge underwater chambers called caissons. The air inside was kept at high pressure to hold back the water.

The writer is considering adding this sentence at the end of the paragraph: "Today, many tourists walk across the bridge to enjoy the view."

Should the writer make this addition?

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 4, paragraph 3: John Roebling, who designed the bridge, died in 1869, and his son, Washington Roebling, [took over] as chief engineer.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 4, paragraph 3: Workers in the underwater chambers [was] at risk of a painful illness that came from leaving high-pressure air too quickly.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 4, paragraph 4: Washington Roebling himself became ill and could no longer visit the site. [ ] His wife, Emily Warren Roebling, carried his instructions to the engineers and workers.

Which choice, inserted at the bracketed point, provides the most effective transition between the two sentences?

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 4, paragraph 4: Emily studied engineering topics such as how steel cables are made and strung. [Nevertheless,] she was able to answer the engineers' detailed questions.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 4, paragraph 5: Shortly before the official opening, Emily became [the person who was the first] to cross the finished bridge by carriage.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 4, paragraph 5: The [bridges] opening ceremony in May 1883 drew enormous crowds.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 4 describes the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, including Washington Roebling's illness and how his wife, Emily, carried his instructions to the workers and learned enough engineering to answer their questions.

The writer wants to end the essay by emphasizing Emily Roebling's role in completing the bridge. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 4, paragraph 5: Historians now credit both Washington and [she] with completing the project.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 5, paragraph 1: In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a group of friends founded the Library Company of [Philadelphia, it] was one of the first lending libraries in the American colonies.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 1: [ ] In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and a group of friends founded the Library Company of Philadelphia, which was one of the first lending libraries in the American colonies.

Which choice, inserted at the bracketed point, would most effectively introduce the essay's topic?

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 2: At the time, books were [super pricey], so few people could afford to own many of them.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 5, paragraph 2: Each member [paying] a fee to join, and the money was used to buy books from London.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 3: The library soon became an important part of life in the city. [ ]

The writer wants to add evidence that supports the claim in this sentence. Which kind of information would best do so?

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 5, paragraph 3: Members could borrow [books, and return] them when they had finished reading.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.2 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 3: The library [first began] in a room in a member's home.

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.3 · Concept check

Passage 5, paragraph 4: Over the next decades, the collection grew [rapid].

Which choice best replaces the bracketed portion? Choose NO CHANGE if it is best as written.

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 4: Over the next decades, the collection grew rapidly. [Franklin is often credited with inventing bifocal glasses.] Members could borrow books on science, history and travel.

The writer is considering deleting the bracketed sentence.

Should the writer make this deletion?

Topic 1.1 · Apply it

Passage 5, paragraph 4 ends: Members could borrow books on science, history and travel.
The next paragraph begins: Today, public libraries across the United States lend books to anyone with a library card, free of charge.

Which choice, added at the end of paragraph 4, would provide the most effective transition to the next paragraph?