3. It can be inferred from the passage that George Babbitt is: a. good at his job. b. lazy. c. a hard worker. d. overworked. 4. What can be inferred from the passage about Babbitt’s relationship with his wife? f. It is romantic and passionate. g. They openly dislike each other. h. They have no strong feelings about each other. j. Babbitt dislikes his wife and feels guilty about it. 5. As it is used in line 31, the word patina most nearly means: a. the pattern of clouds in the sky. b. the pattern of the elm tree branches. c. the shine of the sky. d. the color of the sky. 6. Which is the first noise to wake Babbitt from his sleep? f. his alarm clock g. a milk truck h. the paperboy j. a car starting 7. The blanket in the last paragraph represents what to Babbitt? a. a manly freedom that he has had to abandon b. beauty over practicality c. warmth and comfort d. the sleep to which he wishes to return 8. Which of the following best explains Babbitt’s reluctance to get out of bed? I. He dislikes his job. II. He has a hangover. III. He has had a fight with his wife. f. I and II g. I only h. II only j. I, II, and III – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 214 9. The young girl in Babbitt’s dream best symbolizes what desire? a. to return to sleep b. to be young and free from his workaday world c. the love he once had for his wife d. his desire to move out of the suburbs 10. The lines “He who had been a boy very credulous of life was no longer greatly interested in the possi- ble and improbable adventures of each new day” (number 32–33) most closely means: f. as a child, Babbitt was optimistic about life, but he now believes they will always be the same. g. Babbitt has never seen the possibilities of life. h. Babbitt has always looked forward to each new day. j. as a boy Babbitt was pessimistic about his life, but now sees its possibilities. NATURAL SCIENCE: Diabetes There are two types of diabetes, insulin-dependent and non-insulin-dependent. Between 90 and 95 percent of the estimated 13 to 14 million people in the United States with diabetes have non-insulin-dependent, or Type II, diabetes. Because this form of diabetes usually begins in adults over the age of 40 and is most common after the age of 55, it used to be called adult-onset dia- betes. Its symptoms often develop gradually and are hard to identify at first; therefore, nearly half of all people with diabetes do not know they have it. Someone who has developed Type II diabetes may feel tired or ill without knowing why, a circumstance which can be particularly dangerous because untreated diabetes can cause damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves. While the causes, short-term effects, and treatments of the two types of diabetes differ, both types can cause the same long-term health problems. Most importantly, both types of diabetes affect the body’s ability to use digested food for energy. Diabetes does not interfere with digestion, but it does prevent the body from using an important product of digestion, glucose (commonly known as sugar), for energy. After a meal, the normal digestive system extracts glucose from some foods. The blood carries the glucose or sugar throughout the body, causing blood glucose levels to rise. In response to this rise, the hormone insulin is released into the bloodstream and signals the body tissues to metabolize or burn the glu- cose for fuel, which causes blood glucose levels to return to normal. The glucose that the body does not use right away is stored in the liver, muscle, or fat. In both types of diabetes, this normal process malfunctions. A gland called the pancreas, found just behind the stomach, makes insulin. In patients with insulin-dependent diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin at all. This condition usually begins in childhood and is known as Type I (formerly called juvenile-onset) diabetes. These patients must have daily insulin injec- tions to survive. People with non-insulin-dependent diabetes usually produce some insulin in their pancreas, but the body’s tissues do not respond very well to the insulin signal and therefore do not metabolize the glucose properly—a condition known as insulin resistance. – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 215 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) Insulin resistance is an important factor in non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and scientists are researching the causes of insulin resistance. They have identified two possibilities. The first is that there could be a defect in the insulin receptors on cells. Like an appliance that needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet, insulin has to bind to a receptor in order to function. Several things can go wrong with receptors. For example, there may not be enough receptors for insulin to bind to, or a defect in the receptors may prevent insulin from binding. The second possible cause of insulin resistance is that, although insulin may bind to the receptors, the cells may not read the signal to metabolize the glucose. Scientists continue to study these cells to see why this might happen. There is no cure for diabetes yet. However, there are ways to alleviate its symptoms. In 1986, a National Institutes of Health panel of experts recommended that the best treatment for non- insulin-dependent diabetes is a diet that helps one maintain a normal weight and pays particular attention to a proper balance of the different food groups. Many experts, including those in the American Diabetes Association, recommend that 50 to 60 percent of daily calories come from car- bohydrates, 12 to 20 percent from protein, and no more than 30 percent from fat. Foods that are rich in carbohydrates, such as breads, cereals, fruits, and vegetables, break down into glucose dur- ing digestion, causing blood glucose to rise. Additionally, studies have shown that cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. A doctor or nutritionist should always be con- sulted for more information and for help in planning a diet to offset the effects of this form of diabetes. 11. According to the passage, the most dangerous aspect of Type II diabetes is: a. the daily insulin shots that are needed for treatment of Type II diabetes. b. that Type II diabetes may go undetected and, therefore, untreated. c. that in Type II diabetes, the pancreas does not produce insulin. d. that Type II diabetes interferes with digestion. 12. The author of the passage compares Type I and Type II diabetes and states which of the following are the same for both? f. treatments g. long-term health risks h. short-term effects j. causes 13. According to the passage, one place in which excess glucose is stored is the: a. stomach. b. insulin receptors. c. pancreas. d. liver. – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 216 (30) (35) (40) (45) 14. A diet dominated by which of the following is recommended for non-insulin-dependent diabetics? f. protein g. fat h. carbohydrates j. raw foods 15. Which of the following is the main function of insulin? a. It signals tissues to metabolize sugar. b. It breaks down food into glucose. c. It carries glucose throughout the body. d. It binds to receptors. 16. Which of the following statements best summarizes the main idea of the passage? f. Type I and Type II diabetes are best treated by maintaining a high-protein diet. g. Type II diabetes is a distinct condition that can be managed by maintaining a healthy diet. h. Type I diabetes is an insidious condition most harmful when the patient is not taking daily insulin injections. j. Adults who suspect they may have Type II diabetes should immediately adopt a high-carbohydrate diet. 17. Which of the following is mentioned in the passage as a possible problem with insulin receptors in insulin-resistant individuals? a. Overeating causes the receptors not to function properly. b. There may be an overabundance of receptors. c. A defect causes the receptors to bind with glucose. d. A defect hinders the receptors from binding with insulin. 18. According to the passage, in normal individuals which of the following processes occur immediately after the digestive system converts some food into glucose? f. The glucose is metabolized by body tissues. g. Insulin is released into the bloodstream. h. Blood sugar levels rise. j. The pancreas manufactures increased amounts of insulin. 19. Based on the information in the passage, which of the following best describes people with Type I dia- betes? a. They do not need to be treated with injections of insulin. b. It does not interfere with digestion. c. Their pancreases do not produce insulin. d. They are usually diagnosed as adults. – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 217 20. As it is used in line 44, what is the closest meaning of the word offset in the final sentence of the pas- sage? f. counteract g. cure h. move away from j. erase SOCIAL STUDIES: This passage is adapted from How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob A. Riis, 1890. The word tenement used throughout the passage refers to rental apartments that are generally of substandard quality. LONG ago it was said that “one half of the world does not know how the other half lives.” That was true then. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat. There came a time when the discomfort and crowding below were so great, and the consequent upheavals so violent, that it was no longer an easy thing to do, and then the upper half fell to wondering what was the matter. Information on the subject has been accumulating rapidly since, and the whole world has had its hands full answering for its old ignorance. In New York, the youngest of the world’s great cities, that time came later than elsewhere, because the crowding had not been so great. There were those who believed that it would never come; but their hopes were vain. Greed and reckless selfishness delivered similar results here as in the cities of older lands. “When the great riot occurred in 1863,” reads the testimony of the Sec- retary of the Prison Association of New York before a legislative committee appointed to investi- gate causes of the increase of crime in the State twenty-five years ago, “every hiding-place and nursery of crime discovered itself by immediate and active participation in the operations of the mob. Those very places and domiciles, and all that are like them, are today nurseries of crime, and of the vices and disorderly courses which lead to crime. By far the largest part—80% at least—of crimes against property and people are perpetrated by individuals who have either lost connec- tion with home life, or never had any, or whose homes had ceased to afford what are regarded as ordinary wholesome influences of home and family The younger criminals seem to come almost exclusively from the worst tenement house districts, that is, when traced back to the very places where they had their homes in the city here.” One thing New York was made of sure at that early stage of the inquiry: the boundary line of the Other Half lies through the tenements. It is ten years and over, now, since that line divided New York’s population evenly. Today three-fourths of New Yorkers live in the tenements, and the nineteenth century drift of the pop- ulation to the cities is only increasing those numbers. The fifteen thousand tenant houses in the past generation have swelled into thirty-seven thousand, and more than twelve hundred thousand persons call them home. The one way out—rapid transit to the suburbs—has brought no relief. We know now that there is no way out; that the “system” that was the evil offspring of public – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 218 (1) (5) (10) (15) (20) (25) neglect and private greed is here to stay, forever a center of our civilization. Nothing is left but to make the best of a bad bargain. The story is dark enough, drawn from the plain public records, to send a chill to any heart. If it shall appear that the sufferings and the sins of the “other half,”and the evil they breed, are but as a fitting punishment upon the community that gave it no other choice, it will be because that is the truth. The boundary line lies there because, while the forces for good on one side vastly out- weigh the bad—not otherwise—in the tenements all the influences make for evil; because they are the hotbeds of the epidemics that carry death to rich and poor alike; the nurseries of poverty and crime that fill our jails and courts; that throw off forty thousand human wrecks to the island asy- lums and workhouses year by year; that turned out in the last eight years a round half million beg- gars to prey upon our charities; that maintain a standing army of ten thousand panhandlers with all that that implies; because, above all, they touch the family life with deadly moral poison. This is their worst crime, inseparable from the system. That we have to own it, the child of our own wrong, does not excuse it, even though it gives it claim upon our utmost patience and tenderest charity. 21. The main idea of the first paragraph is: a. The rich do not care about the poor until their own lives are affected. b. The rich know nothing about the lives of the poor. c. The rich and the poor lead very different lives. d. The poor revolted against the rich. 22. According to the passage, the “other half” refers to: f. the rich. g. criminals. h. children. j. the poor. 23. According to the Secretary of the Prison Association, the main reason for increased crime was: a. blamed on younger criminals. b. a lack of decent housing for the poor. c. the wealthy people’s indifference to the poor. d. a shortage of prisons. 24. At the time the passage was written, how many people lived in tenement housing? f. more than 120,000 g. 37,000 h. 15,000 j. more than 1,200,000 – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 219 (30) (35) (40) . glucose properly—a condition known as insulin resistance. – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 2 15 (1) (5) (10) ( 15) (20) ( 25) Insulin resistance is an important factor in non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and. PRACTICE– 216 (30) ( 35) (40) ( 45) 14. A diet dominated by which of the following is recommended for non-insulin-dependent diabetics? f. protein g. fat h. carbohydrates j. raw foods 15. Which of the. “system” that was the evil offspring of public – ACT READING TEST PRACTICE– 218 (1) (5) (10) ( 15) (20) ( 25) neglect and private greed is here to stay, forever a center of our civilization. Nothing