<p>I'm trying to compile a list of hard critical reading sections, notably the passage questions, in the Blue Book, Online Course, and the Question-Answer-Service. Could you guys help out in this compilation? Thanks!</p>
<p>BB:
Exam 7: Section 8</p>
<p>OC:</p>
<p>QAS:</p>
<p>In my experience as a tutor, students have struggled with the following Blue Book passages:</p>
<p>Test 4, Section 8, television commentators
Test 5, Section 3, modern art accessibility
Test 6, Section 3, dancing as a gesture
Test 10, Section 4, physicists and the irrelevant
Test 10, Section 6, Trabb’s boy (Dickens)</p>
<p>^ Oh my GOD that Trabb’s boy passage was brutal to try to figure out. But I clutched it and got em all right lol.</p>
<p>That was a separate-the-men-from-the-boys passage if I’ve ever seen one.</p>
<p>BB:
Test 4, Section 8, television commentators
Test 5, Section 3, modern art accessibility
Test 6, Section 3, dancing as a gesture
Test 7, Section 8, Jocelyn College
Test 10, Section 4, physicists and the irrelevant
Test 10, Section 6, Trabb’s boy (Dickens)</p>
<p>OC:</p>
<p>QAS:</p>
<p>Yes, that passage just slays my students, which is odd, since Dickens is one of the easiest classic reads. I think I’ve had one make it through unscathed. But she was a voracious reader, which I think makes all the difference. It’s one of the toughest fictional passages I’ve seen.</p>
<p>@SATwriter:</p>
<p>Thanks for your help! But I was wondering what were your thoughts on the critical reading sections in the January 2011 test?</p>
<p>@violinplayer, I was on maternity leave in January and so I didn’t get an opportunity to see that test.</p>
<p>I realized that the passages you’re referring to are for BBII, what are the hardest passages for BBI?</p>
<p>OMG THAT JOCELYN COLLEGE AND TRABB’S BOY was brutal…I somehow got half the Jocelyn college one wrong but all the Trabb’s boy right…and I felt pretty confident about my answers about Jocelyn college…not for the Trabb’s boy. </p>
<p>I will attempt to tackle the QAS ones:</p>
<p>October 2005 Dual Passage- MLK- Section 2 is also in the Official Practice Test 2010-2011
October 2005- Quantum Physics and the String Theory- Section 4
May 2006- Section 8- Cheetahs- I’m pretty sure this is in the blue book
October 2007- Section 4- Dual Passage: History of Nations
Jan 2008- Section 8- The Accuracy of Translations
October 2008- Section 6- A Physicist’s Perspective in How Human Beings Utilize Reality
Jan 2009- Section 6- The Sea Nomads
May 2009- Section 2- Tales of a Yucatan Archaeologist
Jan 2011- Section 4- Satchel Paige/ The Tribulation and Harriet Cleve
May 2011- Section 9- Cave Paintings[in my opinion the hardest of them all]</p>
<p>There was also one about a black girl who was visiting Washington DC to listen to the black singer Marian Anderson. It was a REALLY tough read, in my honest opinion…really hard to understand. I know it was on a QAS, but I don’t remember which one. </p>
<p>Add May 06- Thomas Jefferson(Section 5) as well.</p>
<p>^ o.o Thanks for helping! 
But I haven’t actually taken some of these tests, so do you think that I kinda wrecked the diagnostic value of these?</p>
<p>Huh? What do you mean?</p>
<p>^lol like I kinda know wut the passages are about now, at least a rough idea. Hence, no diagnostic value?</p>
<p>You may know the title, but you don’t know the content. You’ve taken practice tests considerably and you probably know the same themes are tested upon…be it animals, or discussion of laws, or whatnot. I don’t believe they lost their diagnostic value.</p>
<p>And trust me, the title is almost nothing about what the content is. You’ll be surprised!</p>
<p>I found the last one in Test 8 harder than usual. It talked about someone writing about his/her grandmother. It was crazy meta.</p>
<p>Can anyone explain Test 5 Section 3 (modern art accessibility) 23? It asks about the author’s attitude toward the majority of people and the answer is “condescendingly tolerant.” I read the explanation but it still doesn’t make much sense to me.</p>
<p>E, condescendingly tolerant, is the best answer.</p>
<p>From the first paragraph, to the middle of the third paragraph, the author IS generally indifferent towards the majority of people, in his attitude. All he does is discuss “what it is that the majority of people call aesthetic pleasure.” He doesn’t express his approval or disapproval towards the feelings and actions of the majority of people.</p>
<p>However, in line 32-33, the author says “most people feel out of their depth and are at a loss as to what to make of the scene, the book, the painting.” In lines 39-41. the author says “most people are unsure how to respond to a work that does not invite sentimental intervention.” Here, the author adopts a condescending tone, which is confirmed by his/her belief that most people are unsure of themselves in art and literature and are uncertain in responding to works without sentimental interventions. </p>
<p>Thus, the author’s general attitude is condescendingly tolerant.</p>
<p>There’s a ridiculously hard passage in January 2008 QAS Section 4 about bioluminescence. Hardest thing I’ve done in a while.</p>
<p>You could also rank the QAS tests by the difficulty of the CR section as a whole, in which case the hardest tests would include 10/07, 5/06, 10/06, 1/07, 10/08, and 5/11.</p>