Sat practice Test #8 Answer Explanations

Choice A is the best answer. The sentences are effectively combined 
by placing a comma after “red” and making the second sentence an 
appositive that explains the significance of the color red.
Choices B, C, and D are incorrect because they all contain excessive 
words that add no meaning to the resulting sentence.
QUESTION 13
Choice D is the best answer. Punctuation is not necessary in the 
underlined portion of the sentence.
Choice A is incorrect because no commas are needed after “festive” 
and “red” because the adjectives don’t equally modify “banners.” No 
comma is needed after “banners” because there is no reason to put 
one between “banners” and “and garlands,” the two objects of the 
preposition “with.” Choice B is incorrect because placing commas 
around the prepositional phrase “with festive red banners” wrongly 
indicates that the information is nonessential and could be eliminated 
without changing the meaning of the sentence. Choice C is incorrect 
because there should not be a dash or any other kind of punctuation 
between “banners” and “and garlands.”

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ANSwER ExPlANATIONS
| SAT Practice Test #8
QUESTION 14
Choice C is the best answer. This choice expands on the idea that 
the lion dance may have originated to ward off an evil spirit and that 
dressing in a lion costume was part of the effort to scare the spirit away.
Choice A is incorrect because it doesn’t make a connection between 
the fierce quality of a lion and scaring away spirits. Choices B and 
D are incorrect because the name of the spirit (choice B) and the 
location of the village where the dance originated (choice D) are not as 
important as why a lion was incorporated into the dance.
QUESTION 15
Choice C is the best answer. It ties the information about the possible 
origins and historical purpose of the lion dance to its present purpose 
as a New Year’s celebration of hope.
Choices A, B, and D are incorrect because they don’t effectively bring 
the paragraph to a conclusion. Each of these options is vague and calls 
for elaboration: choice A lacks specific information, choice B lacks 
proof for the idea of irrelevance, and choice D lacks a connection to the 
subject of the paragraph.
QUESTION 16