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If you took the May 2007 SAT Reasoning Test, you would have been given one of the essay prompts below: Prompt 1 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Materialism: its the thing that everybody loves to hate. Few aspects of modern life have been more criticized than materialism. But lets face it: materialismacquiring possessions and spending moneyis a vital source of meaning and happiness in our time. People may criticize modern society for being too materialistic, but the fact remains that most of us spend most of our energy producing and consuming more and more stuff.sat Adapted from James Twitchell, Two Cheers for Materialism Assignment: Should modern society be criticized for being materialistic? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. Prompt 2 Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. Knowledge is power. In agriculture, medicine, and industry, for example, knowledge has liberated us from hunger, disease, and tedious labor. Today, however, our knowledge has become so powerful that it is beyond our control. We know how to do many things, but we do not know where, when, or even whether this know-how should be used. | 
