SAT Practice Test #1 Questions and
Answers 2026-2027
READING - PASSAGE 1 - READING - PASSAGE 1 - READING SECTION
This passage is from Lydia Minatoya, The Strangeness of Beauty. ©1999 by Lydia Minatoya. The setting
is Japan in 1920. Chie and her daughter Naomi are members of the House of Fuji, a noble family.
Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. Was
that it? Had he followed form—had he asked his
mother to speak to his father to approach a
go-between—would Chie have been more receptive?
LINE 5 — He came on a winter's eve. He pounded on the
door while a cold rain beat on the shuttered veranda,
so at first Chie thought him only the wind. The maid
knew better. Chie heard her soft scuttling footsteps,
the creak of the door. Then the maid brought a
LINE 10 —calling card to the drawing room, for Chie.
Chie was reluctant to go to her guest; perhaps she
was feeling too cozy. She and Naomi were reading at
a low table set atop a charcoal brazier. A thick quilt
spread over the sides of the table so their legs were
LINE 15 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>tucked inside with the heat.
"Who is it at this hour, in this weather?" Chie
questioned as she picked the name card off the
maid's lacquer tray.
"Shinoda, Akira. Kobe Dental College," she read.
LINE 20 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>Naomi recognized the name. Chie heard a soft
intake of air.
, "I think you should go," said Naomi.
Akira was waiting in the entry. He was in his early
twenties, slim and serious, wearing the black
LINE 25 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>military-style uniform of a student. As he
bowed—his hands hanging straight down, a
black cap in one, a yellow oil-paper umbrella in the
other—Chie glanced beyond him. In the glistening
surface of the courtyard's rain-drenched paving
LINE 30- stones, she saw his reflection like a dark double.
"Madame," said Akira, "forgive my disruption,
but I come with a matter of urgency."
His voice was soft, refined. He straightened
and stole a deferential peek at her face.
LINE 35 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>I
PASSAGE 1 -Q1- Which choice best describes what happens in the passage?
A) One character argues with another character who intrudes on her home.
B) One character receives a surprising request from another character.
C) One character reminisces about choices she has made over the years.
D) One character criticizes another character for pursuing an unexpected course of action. -CORRECT
ANSWER ->>PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>B
PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>Q2- Which choice best describes the developmental pattern of the
passage?
A) A careful analysis of a traditional practice
B) A detailed depiction of a meaningful encounter
C) A definitive response to a series of questions
D) A cheerful recounting of an amusing anecdote -CORRECT ANSWER ->>PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER
->>B
Answers 2026-2027
READING - PASSAGE 1 - READING - PASSAGE 1 - READING SECTION
This passage is from Lydia Minatoya, The Strangeness of Beauty. ©1999 by Lydia Minatoya. The setting
is Japan in 1920. Chie and her daughter Naomi are members of the House of Fuji, a noble family.
Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. Was
that it? Had he followed form—had he asked his
mother to speak to his father to approach a
go-between—would Chie have been more receptive?
LINE 5 — He came on a winter's eve. He pounded on the
door while a cold rain beat on the shuttered veranda,
so at first Chie thought him only the wind. The maid
knew better. Chie heard her soft scuttling footsteps,
the creak of the door. Then the maid brought a
LINE 10 —calling card to the drawing room, for Chie.
Chie was reluctant to go to her guest; perhaps she
was feeling too cozy. She and Naomi were reading at
a low table set atop a charcoal brazier. A thick quilt
spread over the sides of the table so their legs were
LINE 15 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>tucked inside with the heat.
"Who is it at this hour, in this weather?" Chie
questioned as she picked the name card off the
maid's lacquer tray.
"Shinoda, Akira. Kobe Dental College," she read.
LINE 20 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>Naomi recognized the name. Chie heard a soft
intake of air.
, "I think you should go," said Naomi.
Akira was waiting in the entry. He was in his early
twenties, slim and serious, wearing the black
LINE 25 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>military-style uniform of a student. As he
bowed—his hands hanging straight down, a
black cap in one, a yellow oil-paper umbrella in the
other—Chie glanced beyond him. In the glistening
surface of the courtyard's rain-drenched paving
LINE 30- stones, she saw his reflection like a dark double.
"Madame," said Akira, "forgive my disruption,
but I come with a matter of urgency."
His voice was soft, refined. He straightened
and stole a deferential peek at her face.
LINE 35 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>I
PASSAGE 1 -Q1- Which choice best describes what happens in the passage?
A) One character argues with another character who intrudes on her home.
B) One character receives a surprising request from another character.
C) One character reminisces about choices she has made over the years.
D) One character criticizes another character for pursuing an unexpected course of action. -CORRECT
ANSWER ->>PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>B
PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER ->>Q2- Which choice best describes the developmental pattern of the
passage?
A) A careful analysis of a traditional practice
B) A detailed depiction of a meaningful encounter
C) A definitive response to a series of questions
D) A cheerful recounting of an amusing anecdote -CORRECT ANSWER ->>PASSAGE 1 -CORRECT ANSWER
->>B
