<p>happysunnyshine…it seems to be clear to you that the restaurant patrons sitting against the walls and out of the center of the restaurant are expressing the need to be away from other people. I think what you’re having trouble with is understanding exactly why one of these two answers (which both seem to reflect what the restaurant patrons are doing) is “best.” Here are two hints to help you out, the first one specific to this question and the second a more general one that may help next time you encounter a situation like this.</p>
<p>1) Process of elimination is probably the best way to go about selecting the winner in this case. You’ve already eliminated 3…one more and by default you’ve got your answer. So, think very literally about what each of the two remaining answer choices is saying, and you may realize that anyone who has a need for “reclusive isolation” wouldn’t be worried about sitting in the middle or around the sides or even in the janitor’s closet of a restaurant; that person wouldn’t even leave his or her house! On the other hand, you may be thinking, “Yeah, but why would someone wanting ‘privacy’ go to a restaurant.” Well, remember the answer choice doesn’t say “complete privacy” or “absolute privacy”; it says, “*relative *privacy,” meaning “Okay, we know we can’t have total privacy, so we’ll sit against the walls and settle for relative privacy compared to those people sitting in the middle.”</p>
<p>Does that make sense?</p>
<p>2) In general, on the SAT (and most standardized tests, for that matter), more moderate, less extreme answer choices on the passage-based reading are almost always better. For instance, “unrestrained enthusiasm” will lose to “tempered joy” 7 days of the week and twice on Sunday. “Bitterly sarcastic” would probably not beat “Quietly cynical.” In the future, if you find yourself completely stuck between two answers, and you sense that one is more extreme or harsh, go with the other one.</p>
<p>A final hint: If you already know this, you’re in good shape, but anytime you see an answer choice with the word “qualified” or “unqualified,” you must know that the word is not being used in the most common sense (i.e., to mean “capable” or “able” to perform some job or function). On the SAT, if you see “qualified,” it means “limited, restricted or conditional.” For instance, if you see “Qualified admiration” as an answer, this means that the “admiration” is not complete or total or absolute but is moderated, limited, or tempered in some way. (Maybe you really admire your best friend, but there are things about him/her that you wish you could change. Hence, your admiration is limited or restricted or “qualified” but not absolute.) Note, therefore, that adding “qualified” to a word makes an answer choice more moderate and less extreme (and better), but “unqualified” usually makes an answer worse. This is not ALWAYS the case, of course, but it’s a good rule of thumb nonetheless.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>