Question 64·Easy·Text Structure and Purpose
The passage is from a memoir in which a scientist revisits his old high-school laboratory.
He pushed open the familiar double doors. The scent of iron filings and burnt sugar rushed toward him, as if time itself had been bottled on a shelf and now uncorked. Rows of microscopes still kept watch over the scarred wooden benches.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the passage?
For SAT questions asking about the function of a sentence, first isolate that sentence and paraphrase it in your own words, then look one sentence before and after to see how it fits into the flow of ideas. Decide what its main job is—description, example, contrast, transition, explanation, emotional reaction, or hint about the future. As you check the choices, eliminate any that introduce ideas not supported by the text (like future events, technical explanations, or emotions that aren’t shown) or that don’t match the tone. Choose the option that best captures the sentence’s main role in the passage, not just any small detail it happens to mention.
Hints
Zoom in on the underlined sentence
Read only the underlined sentence again. Ask yourself: is it mainly describing an action, a feeling, a prediction, or a detailed scientific explanation?
Pay attention to key words and imagery
Look closely at phrases like "scent of iron filings and burnt sugar" and "as if time itself had been bottled on a shelf and now uncorked." What aspect of the narrator’s experience are these phrases emphasizing?
Check how it connects to the surrounding sentences
The sentence comes right after he pushes open the doors and before the description of the microscopes and benches. How does it help you understand what it is like for him to step back into this lab at this moment?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks for the function of the underlined sentence—what job it does in the passage, not just what it literally says. Common functions include describing a setting, revealing a feeling, giving background, or hinting at future events.
Paraphrase the underlined sentence in your own words
Focus on the underlined sentence: "The scent of iron filings and burnt sugar rushed toward him, as if time itself had been bottled on a shelf and now uncorked."
In simpler words, when he opens the doors, the familiar smells of the lab hit him, and it feels like no time has passed, as if the past were stored in a bottle and just opened again. Notice this is about smell (a sense) and about time feeling collapsed.
Notice the descriptive details and tone
Ask: What kind of information is this sentence adding?
- It gives sensory detail (specifically smell: "scent," "iron filings," "burnt sugar").
- It uses a metaphor: time bottled and uncorked, which suggests that the past in this lab feels suddenly present again.
- The tone is nostalgic and vivid, not technical and not negative.
So the sentence is creating a strong, sensory, almost nostalgic moment as he re-enters the lab.
Match that role to the best answer choice
Now compare each choice to what the sentence actually does:
- It does not hint at a future discovery (nothing about what he will discover or do next), so a foreshadowing answer is off.
- It does not complain about the lab or show disappointment; the details are rich and almost fond.
- It does not give any scientific explanation of the smells; it just names them and uses a metaphor about time.
The only choice that matches the sentence’s role—to highlight how strongly and vividly he experiences and remembers the lab through his senses—is:
B) It underscores the narrator’s vivid sensory memory of the laboratory.