The ideal time to start preparing for the SAT is when you are in grade six or seven. I am about to write a very short story, which contains several difficult words, which are in bold type.
The Day We Lost The Game
When John Barley hit a homer, the Blue Jays were certain that the outcome would be auspicious. After all, in the top of the ninth, they were now ahead by two runs.
What could possibly go awry? The Yankees were batting at the bottom of the ninth. The lead batter hit a single. The next batter managed to get to second base. The third batter hit a double and the bases were loaded. The situation was not baleful but it was certainly no longer benign.
The next batter, John Abraham, had never hit a homer in his entire career. Nevertheless, the Blue Jays pitcher was pulled by the coach. It behooved the Blue Jays to be at the top of their game.
John Abraham knew that it was now or never. He hit a long ball to left field. It cleared the fence by mere inches. As he rounded the bases, he heard the roar of the hometown crowd and realized that he possessed a certain charisma on this the best of all days.
The end
SAT Vocabulary Story 1
Mr. Jones was the most annoying teacher we had ever had. However when it came time to tackling our SAT Vocabulary brain drain, we were glad that we had been subjected to what we considered to be a tyrant.
At first glance, Mr. Jones did not seem to be authentic. We were not all that confident that he had that great a vocabulary. He seemed to use words that we had never heard before. His opening remark to us went something like this:
"You people would not know a cabal if you tripped over one."
Of course, he was right. Who in their right mind would have risked becoming involved in an intrigue or plot?" Of course, if we had been accused of plotting a cabal we would not have known just how much danger we had led ourselves into.
We know realize that Mr. Jones was not in the least bit bombastic. He certainly was not pompous, or endlessly wordy and if we had come across the word turbid we would not know it from a turnip. However we were soon to realize that when Mr. Jones used the word turbid, he was not the least bit confused or perplexed.
Mr. Jones was beneficent but of course during the process of dragging us into the vocabulary game that he liked to play we were soon to realize that our teacher was not benign. He would shake his head from time to time when we revealed our ignorance. We were soon to realize that we would be bereft if he were to give up on us.
He did foist the odd axiom upon us but of course none of us had an inkling of what constituted an axiom. An axiom is simply an established principle or statement that has been accepted as the truth.
The end
Sat Vocabulary Story 2
"Using vernacular expressions will not cut the mustard when it comes to grasping literary or cultured language," Mr. Jones said for openers on day two.
George was the first to put his hand up. "When should we begin to shun the vernacular?" he asked.
"Don't shun it but don't use it when you become serious about doing the SAT," Mr. Jones said.
"Participles confuse me," Salvador said.
"They are not that difficult," said the teacher. "As long as you don't try to analyze them. "A participle has the characteristics of both a verb and an adjective. That is all that you need to know for now."
"Is a participle related to a gerund?" Suzy asked without putting up her hand.
"I guess it must be, when you use a verbal noun. However to tell you the truth, knowing the definition isn't going to be a whole lot of help."
"Does anyone know what purpose irony serves?"
"Irony is used to provide an expression that is opposite to the literal meaning such as dead man walking.
"Got it," said the new guy at the back of the room. "What I want to know is what a zephyr purports to be."
"In Greek mythology, it is the god of the west wind," said Sally who seldom spoke.
"I have an avaricious desire for words," said John, the captain of the basketball team and the owner of an Aston Martin, which spent more time in the shop than it did on the road.
"Let's wrap it up soon," said Mr. Jones." I will leave you with an assignment. You need to be able to recognize which part of speech a particular word belongs to. Is particular an adjective, noun or what-have-you?"
"The ar ending gives the game away," said a guy who mumbled. It is most likely to be an adjective."
"How about al words?" Mr. Jones asked.
"They are also likely to be adjectives for the most part," said Sally.
The end