Unit 4: Reading Comprehension
Sample Passages
In seeking the correct answers to the questions for the reading passages, be guided only by what appears in the passage. Exclude from your mind any opinions or previous knowledge that you may have on the subject. You are not being tested on what you know, but on what the passage says. Therefore, do not allow any outside information to influence your choice.
The following passage is a typical example of a test for reading comprehension. Read the passage first and then read the questions that follow. The answers will appear after all of the questions have been asked. Take note of how each answer was determined in the explanation which follows each answer.
Sample Passage #1
The guitar is a flat-bodied stringed instrument plucked with the fingers. It descended from the lute, another stringed instrument having a long neck, pear-shaped body, and curved back. Many music scholars believe that the guitar originated in the Orient and reached Europe with the Moors at about the period of the Crusades. From manuscripts and documents handed down through the ages, we can assume that the guitar was most often used to accompany the folk songs and dances of Spain and Italy, of the Gypsies, and of Latin America. Furthermore, these different cultures, as well as others, produced many variations of this instrument; for example, the villagers of Russia often use a stringed instrument called a balalaika to add to thier dancing and singing enjoyment. In much the same way, the peoples of the Hawaiian Islands have the ukelele to accompany their folk dancing and singing. Finally, the Japanese enjoy their music from a stringed instrument called a samisen. Thus, the guitar has succeeded in becoming one of the major musical instruments in the world.
Questions : Passage #1
1. The title that best expresses the main idea of the passage is
a ) Folk people and thier musical instruments
b) A short history of the guitar
c) The origin of the balalaika
d) Ancient descriptions of the guitar
2. The origin of the guitar
a) precedes the Renaissance period in the fifteenth century
b) probably was caused by an interest in stringed instruments
c) was discovered in manuscripts that were handed down
d) can be traces back to a period before the Crusades
3. We may infer from the passage that the guitar ( and its other variations ) was most often used to entertain the
a )nobility
b) king and queen
c) lower classes
d) religious
4. An instrument that most closely resembles the description of the guitar mentioned in the passage is
a) banjo
b) fiddle
c) trumpet
d) violin
5. The bolded word variations means most nearly :
a) problems
b) prices
c) different types
d) uses
Answers : Passage #1
1. The correct answer is [ b ].
Choice [ b ] is the correct answer because almost all of the sentences in the passage give some indication of the history of the guitar. Some sentences mention its origins and use through the ages, while other sentences discuss how it has changed in different cultures.
Choice [ a ] is wrong because “folk people” is mentioned only in the latter half of the passage, not throughout the entire passage. Choices [ c ] and[ d ] are not discussed at all.
2. The correct answer is [ d ].
Choice [ d ] is the correct answer because there is a sentence in the passage that states that the guitar “reached Europe with the Moors at the period of the Crusades.” Therefore, it had to have originated before the Crusades.
3. The correct answer is [ c ].
Choice [ c ] is the correct answer. “To infer” means to derive or conclude some opinion on the basis of given facts, statements, etc. Some sentences indicate that the guitar companied folk songs, folk dances, and was played by villagers and “people of the Hawaiian Islands.” The bolded terms imply and indicate the lower classes or common classes of people. Furthermore, choice [ a ],[ b ], and[ c ] are never mentioned in the passage.
4. The correct answer is [ a ].
Choice [ a ]is the correct answer because the first two sentences of the passage denote specific qualities of the guitar: it is “plucked,” has “long neck,” and is “stringed.” The banjo is the only choice that fits all three.
Choices [ b ] and [ d ] are incorrect because, although they are “stringed” and have a “long neck,” they are rarely “plucked”; instead they are most often played with a bow. In this question you had to apply the ideas learned in the passage to something external to the passage. Choice [ c ] is wrong for obvious reasons.
5. The correct answer is [ c ].
Choice [ c ] is the correct answer because “various” or “to vary” or have “variations” of a guitar is to have a different type of guitar as mentioned in the passage. Choices [ a ], [ b ], and [ d ] do not apply to the meaning of “variations.”
Sample Passage #2
The year 2005 was a watershed for school nutrition. That’s because 2005 was the year that 42 state legislatures considered major revisions to policies concerning vending machines and cafeteria offerings in public schools; many passed legislation that imposed sweeping reforms. For many public school students, that meant the end of access to potato chips, candy cars, and high-sugar soft drinks. This revolution was slow in coming and for a predictable reason: money. Schools are chronically underfunded, and as a result, they are always looking for ways to increase revenue in order to fund such “luxuries” as arts programs, athletic teams, field trips, and extracurricular clubs. Over the years, vending machines stocked with junk foods, became a reliable source of this much-needed income. Schools were understandably dubious about any new nutrition regulations. They wanted to promote healthy eating, but they also relied on vending machines for cash, and they knew the most successful vending machines in schools sold junk food.
Then came an avalanche of reports on childhood obesity. The consensus: that anywhere between 10% and 33% of all American children were either overweight or in danger of becoming overweight. This isno small problem: Childhood obesity carries with it a number of potential complications, including high blood pressure, sleep disorders, liver disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Psychological effects can include depression and learning difficulties. Under the circumstances, state legislatures had little choice. When the media began reporting regularly on childhood obesity, citizens began to demand that the government take action.
It’s too early to determine what, if any, effect these changes have had on childhood obesity. As for school revenues, reports are mixed. Philadelphia schools report no drop in income since they stopped stocking machines with soda and started stocking them with juice, milk, and water. Chicago schools, on the other hand, report a loss in income. Miami-Dade County public schools actually report a notable increase in income since making the switch. Public health expert Damien Seip notes, “Regardless of the impact of revenue. It’s clear to everyone that junk food has got to go from our schools. We simply cannot participate in the fattening of America’s youth. It’s unconscionable.”
Questions : Passage #2
1. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
a) Somewhere between 10% and 33% of American children today are overweight.
b) In Miami-Dade County, public schools saw an increase in vending machine revenue when they switched from junk food to healthy snacks.
c) Type 2 diabetes is especially dangerous in young people, as it can lead to lifelong health problems and even premature death.
d) Increased awareness of childhood obesity has led many states to enact new school food-service regulations.
2. According to the passage, changes to school food policies have so far resulted in
a) a measurable decrease in obesity among public school students.
b) an increase in truancy as student leave campus to buy junk food off school premises.
c) a variety of positive and negative effects on school income from food sales.
d) a decrease in the incidence of depression among high school students.
3. According to the passage, schools resisted changes to nutrition policies because they
a) relied on vending mahcine sales to fund extracurricular activities.
b) believed the changes didn’t go far enough in banning junk food.
c) felt that such decisions should be made by school boards, not state legislatures.
d) worried that the changes would require an increase in cafeteria staff, which the schools could not afford.
4. The writer most likely puts the word luxuries in quotes to indicate that he is
a) repeating what someone else said.
b) using the word ironically.
c) uncertain about the meaning of the word.
d) introducing an unfamiliar technical term.
5. As used in the passage, the word dubious most nearly means
a) uncertain.
b) opposed.
c) excited.
d) misinformed.
Answers : Passage #2
1. The correct answer is [ d ].
Of the answer choices, only choice [ d ] referes to the entire passage; the others refer to specific details from one portion of the passage. The answer to a main idea question must address the passage as a whole, not merely one section of the passage.
2. The correct answer is [ c ].
In the final paragraph, the passage states: “As for school revenues, reports are mixed.” This, and the details that follow, support the conclusion that new school food policies have resulted in “a variety of positive and negative effects on school income from food sales.” Choices [ b ] and [ d ] refer to data that is not provided in the passage and, therefore, cannot be correct; choice [ a ]is contradicted by the first sentence of the final paragraph.
3. The correct answer is [ a ].
Choice [ a ] is supported by paragraph 2, which explains how schools have become dependent on vending machine sales to pay for sports, arts programs, and other extracurricular activities. None of the other answers is mentioned in the passage and, therefore, cannot be correct.
4. The correct answer is [ b ].
The writer is indicating that he does not truly think that arts programs, sports, field trips, and extracurricular clubs are luxuries. He is being ironic. Irony is often indicated in writing by quotation marks.
5. The correct answer is [ a ].
The sentence that follows the sentence in which dubious appears helps define the term. The schools “want to promote healthy eating,” but “also relied on vending machines for cash.” Their desires were at cross purposes and, therefore, the schools were dubious, or uncertain, about proposed changes.