ACT English Practice Test 17

The Joy of Sailing

Pictures and postcards of the Caribbean do not lie; the shining water Q1 with every shade of aquamarine, from pale pastel green to deep emerald and navy. The ocean hypnotizes with it’s Q2 glassy vastness. A spell is set upon the soul and a euphoric swell rises to the corners of the mouth pushing up. Q3 One sailing trip in particular brings back fond memories.

On this beautiful day, my good friends and I joined a more experienced crew and sailed blissfully from one cay to another. We were incredibly happy to be sailing through the cays. Q4 As boating novices, my friends and I were in charge of spotting the light areas of the seafloor that signaled dangerous reefs. Ocean reefs have the potential to rupture the hull of any sailboat that passes over them, so while the electronic depth sounder is an indispensable tool, it is always helpful to find a reef ahead of time so that it can be more easily avoided. Q5 All at once, a smooth sail can turn into complete pandemonium as the captain at the wheel begins yell Q6 directions to the first mate, who quickly begins struggling with the sails and rigging. Generally, the wind continues offers of Q7 resistance. This makes the first mate’s struggle more demanding and outright frightening to the less experienced boaters on board. This mad yelling and steering, along with the raucous flapping of the sails go on Q8 for several minutes before all is right again and the boat settles into its new course. With congratulatory smiles, once this has occurred, the captain and first mate acknowledge each other. Q9

We novices, however, are still recovering from our terror and wondering to ourselves. “Was Q10 all that supposed to happen? And they think this is fun?”

The marina we were heading back toward,Q11 the unpredictable wind not only slowed but stopped, and soon the boat did too. After several minutes, the ship’s patient crew grudgingly turned on Q12 the trolling motor Unfortunately, the motor wouldn’t start and so we lay adrift at sea, no land in sight, just waiting. It was late afternoon when I began to recognize the panic that was rising in my throat. Eventually, Q13 the ship’s captain got the engine running and we slowly trolled back to our cozy slip. The sails were up and the little motor hummed along. From the shore, we may have looks Q14 like we were actually sailing. Q15