Free SAT Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: SAT-RW-II-034
Section: SAT Reading & Writing (RW) – Information and Ideas
Topic: Central Ideas and Details
Difficulty level: Easy

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In 1901, divers exploring an ancient shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera recovered a corroded lump of bronze that at first drew little notice. Decades of study, and later X-ray and CT imaging, revealed that the lump held dozens of interlocking gears of varying sizes. By turning a hand crank, a user could align these gears to model the motions of the Sun and Moon, track the cycle of lunar phases, and predict when eclipses were likely. Nothing of comparable intricacy survives from the following thousand years. To many historians, the device is startling evidence that Greek craftworkers commanded a tradition of precision gearing far more advanced than the surviving written record had suggested.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

ADivers working near the island of Antikythera recovered a corroded lump of bronze from an ancient shipwreck in 1901.

BA geared bronze device recovered near Antikythera reveals that ancient Greek craftworkers had mastered precision engineering more sophisticated than written records had indicated.

CThe Antikythera device was the most advanced scientific instrument produced anywhere in the ancient world and was widely admired in its day. On this telling it was not just remarkable but the singular marvel of its age, celebrated in its own time, none of which the passage actually reports.

DBy turning a hand crank, a user of the device could predict the exact days on which eclipses would occur.

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