Paragraph Comprehension





Passage

Due process, the guarantee of fairness in the administration of justice, is part of the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment further requires states to abide by due process. After this amendment was enacted, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many state laws that infringed on the civil rights guaranteed to citizens in the Bill of Rights.

According to the above passage, due process

(A) is an outdated concept.

(B) guarantees fairness in the justice system. ✔

(C) never became part of the U.S. Constitution.

(D) is the process by which winning lottery tickets are selected

Passage

The U.S. Congress consists of 100 senators and 435 representatives. Two senators are elected from each state. The number of representatives from each state is based on population, although each state has at least one representative. Senators serve six-year terms, and representatives serve two-year terms.

According to this passage,

(A) there are equal numbers of senators and representatives.

(B) the number of representatives from each state is decided by a lottery.

(C) it’s possible for a state to have no representatives.

(D) senators and representatives have different term lengths. ✔

Passage

An important stage of personal time management is to take control of appointments. Determined by external obligation, appointments constitute interaction with other people and an agreed-on interface between your activities and those of others. Start with a simple appointment diary. List all appointments, including regular and recurring ones. Now, be ruthless and eliminate the unnecessary. There may be committees where you can’t productively contribute or where a subordinate may be able to participate. Eliminate the waste of your time.

Effectively managing your appointments allows you to

(A) spend more time with your subordinates.

(B) delegate responsibility to subordinates.

(C) make more efficient use of your time. ✔

(D) attend only the most important meetings.

Passage

Regular physical activity substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease, the nation’s leading cause of death, and decreases the risk of stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. It also helps to control weight; contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints; reduces falls among older adults; helps to relieve the pain of arthritis; reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression; and is associated with fewer hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications. Moreover, physical activity need not be strenuous to be beneficial; people of all ages benefit from participating in regular, moderate-intensity physical activity, such as 30 minutes of brisk walking five or more times a week.

Despite the proven benefits of physical activity, more than 50 percent of American adults do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits. Twenty-five percent of adults are not active at all in their leisure time. Activity decreases with age and is less common among women than men and among those with lower income and less education. Furthermore, there are racial and ethnic differences in physical activity rates, particularly among women. Insufficient physical activity is not limited to adults. More than a third of young people in grades 9–12 do not regularly engage in vigorous-intensity physical activity. Daily participation in high school physical education classes dropped from 42 percent in 1991 to 32 percent in 2001.

Physical activity can bring you many health benefits. People who enjoy participating in moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity physical activity on a regular basis benefit by lowering their risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and colon cancer by 30–50 percent. Additionally, active people have lower premature death rates than people who are the least active.

 

Which of the following best represents the main idea of this passage?

(A) Even a moderate amount of exercise has health benefits. ✔

(B) People who do not exercise need to be convinced to do so.

(C) Exercises cures heart disease and decreases stroke.

(D) Strenuous exercise is better than moderate exercise.

Which of the following can be inferred from this passage?

(A) More exercise is better.

(B) If you exercise, you are likely to improve your health. ✔

(C) Exercise eliminates heart disease and strokes.

(D) People who exercise have no weight problems.

According to the passage, which of the following is not a benefit of regular exercise?

(A) Lowering blood pressure

(B) Reducing colon cancer

(C) Reducing fatty acids✔

(D) Reducing coronary heart disease

According to the passage, which of the following is true?

(A) Twenty-five percent of adults do no exercise at all in their leisure time. ✔

(B) People are living longer because of exercise.

(C) Older people tend to exercise more than younger people.

(D) People who have been hospitalized tend not to exercise.

About what percent of Americans do not get enough exercise to obtain health benefits?

(A) 25 percent

(B) 32 percent

(C) 42 percent

(D) 50 percent✔

Passage

During the first decade of the nineteenth century, the geographic image of western North America began to change dramatically. Based on the observations of the explorers Meriwether Lewis and George Rogers Clark, information gathered from native people, and Clark’s own cartographic imagination, this image evolved from an almost empty interior with a hypothetical single mountain range serving as a western continental divide to an intricate one showing a labyrinth of mountains and rivers. A continent that had once seemed empty and simple was now becoming full and complex.

The Lewis and Clark expedition established the precedent for army exploration in the West. Major Stephen H. Long’s Scientific Expedition (1819–1820) advanced that tradition, this time centering attention on the central and southern Great Plains and the Front Range of the Rockies. For the first time, an American exploring party included professional scientists (a zoologist and a botanist) and two skilled artists. While not every future American expedition took along such skilled observers, the pattern was set for increasingly scientific exploration.

It would take another 50 years after Lewis and Clark to complete the cartographic image of the West we know today. Other explorers and mapmakers followed, each revealing new geographic and scientific details about specific parts of the western landscape. But this revealing process was not a simple one. New knowledge did not automatically replace old ideas; some old notions—especially about river passages across the West—persisted well into the nineteenth century. In the decades after Lewis and Clark, the company of western explorers expanded to include fur traders, missionaries, and government topographers, culminating in the 1850s with the Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers surveying the southwestern and northwestern boundaries of the United States as well as the potential routes for a transcontinental railroa(D) By the time of the Civil War, an ocean-toocean American empire with borders clearly defined was a fact of continental life.

 

Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

(A) Western North America has a single mountain range that was unknown before the early nineteenth century.

(B) Nineteenth-century explorers found western North America to be geographically more complex than they had originally thought. ✔

(C) Western North America was barren and mostly empty before the early nineteenth century.

(D) Lewis and Clark discovered many rivers in western North America

In the passage the word labyrinth most nearly means

(A) jumble. ✔

(B) line.

(C) concentration.

(D) beautiful design.

According to the passage, which event set the pattern for scientific exploration in the West?

(A) The exploration of the Army’s Corps of Topographical Engineers

(B) Long’s Scientific Expedition✔

(C) The exploration of Lewis and Clark

(D) The discovery of a major mountain range in the West

According to the passage, which of the following is true?

(A) Lewis and Clark explored the Front Range of the Rockies, helping the fur traders to expand their business in that area

(B) Fur traders boosted the economy of what is now the western part of the United States.

(C) Native people provided Lewis and Clark with information about the topography of what is now the western part of the United States. ✔

(D) Mapmakers helped plot the route for the transcontinental railroad

According to the passage, what group of people were most instrumental in setting the pattern for more scientifically oriented exploration of the West?

(A) The military✔

(B) Fur traders

(C) Mapmakers

(D) Missionaries

Passage

Heroes were an important part of Greek mythology, but the characteristics that Greeks admired in a hero are not necessarily identical to those we admire today. Greek heroes are not always what modern readers might think of as “good role models.” Their actions may strike us as morally dubious.

For example, consider the encounter between the legendary Greek hero Odysseus and the Cyclops. The Cyclops was one of a race of giants who lived by themselves on a remote, rarely visited island The name Cyclops means “round eye,” because these giants had only one eye in the middle of their forehead They lived in caves, tended flocks of sheep, and ate the produce of their fields; they were shepherds.

Odysseus visited the island as part of his exploration to look for supplies. He brought with him a flask of wine. Although he was regarded as an intruder by the Cyclops, he helped himself to the giant’s supplies without permission. The Cyclops became very angry. To ease the anger, Odysseus served him some wine. The Cyclops enjoyed the wine and asked for more. Later, when the Cyclops is in a wine-induced stupor, Odysseus attacks him in the eye. Later Odysseus brags to his comrades about blinding the one-eyed creature.

 

This does not mean the Greeks admired thievery and bragging, however. What they admired about Odysseus, in this instance, was his capacity for quick thinking. Odysseus was also known for pulling off great feats with panache and self-confidence.

Not all Greek heroes were admired for the same reasons. Some, such as Odysseus, were admired for their resourcefulness and intelligence, whereas others, such as Herakles, were known for their strength and courage. Some were not particularly resourceful but depended on help to accomplish their tasks.

Whether or not a given action or quality was admired depended upon its ultimate results. Being headstrong might succeed in one instance but lead to failure in another. The Greeks held the characters in their legends accountable for their actions, and a hero might be punished as well as rewarded

 

In this passage, what is the meaning of the word dubious?

(A) Crass

(B) Wrong

(C) Doubtful✔

(D) On the high ground

Based on this passage, why did the Greeks admire Odysseus?

(A) He could react quickly to a situation. ✔

(B) He was a good role model.

(C) He attacked when the Cyclops was incapacitated

(D) He was a hero in Greek mythology.

According to the passage, what was Herakles known for?

(A) Kindness

(B) Bravery✔

(C) Resourcefulness

(D) Failure

What is the major idea in this passage?

(A) Odysseus was a murderer.

(B) Odysseus was a thief.

(C) The Greeks judged their legendary heroes by the results they achieved✔

(D) The Greeks admired each of their legendary heroes for the same reasons.

What was the major occupation of the Cyclops?

(A) Sailor

(B) Farmer

(C) Weaver

(D) Shepherd✔

Passage

The success or failure of a conference lies largely with its leader. A leader’s zest and enthusiasm must be real, apparent, and contagious. The leader is responsible for getting the ball rolling and making the attendees feel as if the meeting is theirs and its success depends on their participation. A good, thorough introduction helps establish the right climate.

A good title to this paragraph would be

(A) “Lead by Example.”

(B) “The Importance of Proper Introductions.”

(C) “Leading a Successful Conference.” ✔

(D) “Conference Participation Basics.”

Passage

Indo-European languages consist of those languages spoken by most of Europe and in

those parts of the world that Europeans have colonized since the 16th century (such as the United States). Indo-European languages are also spoken in India, Iran, parts of western Afghanistan, and in some areas of Asia

The author of this passage would agree that

(A) Indo-European languages are spoken in areas all over the world✔

(B) Indo-European languages include all the languages spoken in the world

(C) only Europeans speak Indo-European languages.

(D) Indo-European language speakers can easily understand one another.

Passage

In privatization, the government relies on the private sector to provide a service. However, the government divests itself of the entire process, including all assets. With privatized functions, the government may specify quality, quantity, and timeliness requirements, but it has no control over the operations of the activity. Also, the government may not be the only customer. Whoever the government chooses to provide the services would likely provide the same services to others.

This paragraph best supports the statement that

(A) the government must closely supervise privatized functions.

(B) privatized functions consist of a mixture of government employees, military personnel, and private contractors.

(C) privatized functions are those institutions that provide services only to a

government agency.

(D) privatized functions provide essential services to the government. ✔

Passage

 

Cloud seeding is accomplished by dropping particles of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) from a plane onto super-cooled clouds. This process encourages condensation of water droplets in the clouds, which usually, but not always, results in rain or snow.

From this passage, it’s reasonable to assume that

(A) cloud seeding could be used to end a drought. ✔

(B) cloud seeding is prohibitively expensive.

(C) cloud seeding is rarely used

(D) cloud seeding can be accomplished by using regular ice.

Passage

To write or not to write — that is the question. If assigned a writing task, there’s no option. However, if someone is looking for a specific answer, find out if they need a short answer or a detailed one. Can the requirement be met with a telephone call, e-mail, or short note, or is something more necessary? A former CEO of a major corporation once commented that he had looked at 13,000 pieces of paper in a 5-day period Think how much easier and more economical it would be if people would use the telephone, send an e-mail, or write a short note.

The main point of this passage is that

(A) written records are important because they provide detailed documentation.

(B) more businesspeople should invest time and energy improving their writing skills.

(C) writing may not be the best way to communicate information. ✔

(D) it’s pointless for businesspeople to spend time improving their writing skills.

Passage

The transistor, a small, solid-state device that can amplify sound, was invented in 1947. At first, it was too expensive and too difficult to produce to be used in cheap, mass-market products. By 1954, though, these cost and production problems had been overcome, and the first transistor radio was put on the market.

According to this passage,

(A) there was no market for transistors before 1954.

(B) when transistors could be produced cheaply and easily, the transistor radio

was put on the market. ✔

(C) transistors were invented in 1947 by order of the Department of Defense.

(D) transistors are still expensive to produce.

Passage

I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty well disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country and was fed up with it. If people had told me a year ago that I would’ve been feeling like that I should’ve laughed at them; but there was the fact. The weather made me liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick, I couldn’t get enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda water that had been standing in the sun.

The author is speaking of his travels in

(A) Spain.

(B) Great Britain. ✔

(C) Germany.

(D) Scotland

Passage

Surveys show that the average child under the age of 18 watches four hours of television per day. Although some of the programming may be educational, most isn’t. Spending this much time watching television interferes with a child’s ability to pursue other interests, such as reading, participating in sports, and playing with friends.

The author of this passage would agree that

(A) television viewing should be restricted✔

(B) parents who let their children watch this much television are neglectful.

(C) reading, participating in sports, playing with friends, and watching television

should all be given equal time.

(D) adults over 18 can watch as much television as they want

Passage

High school and college graduates attempting to find jobs should participate in mock job interviews. These mock interviews help students prepare for the types of questions they’ll be asked, make them more comfortable with common interview formats, and help them critique their performance before facing a real interviewer. Because they’re such a valuable aid, schools should organize mock job interviews for all of their graduating students.

The above passage states that mock job interviews

(A) frighten students.

(B) should be offered to the best students.

(C) help prepare students for real job interviews. ✔

(D) should be organized by students.

From the above passage, it is reasonable to assume that

(A) mock interviews can increase a student’s confidence when he or she goes into a real job interview. ✔

(B) mock interviews are expensive to organize.

(C) few students are interested in mock interviews.

(D) students don’t need job interview preparation.

 

Passage

The torrid flames caused irreparable damage to the furniture and other things in the boys' rooms. But that night we realized just how much we have to be thankful for. Our family was safe, and that's all that really mattered"

The main idea of the passage above is?

(A) Safety is what really matters✔

(B) The family was poor

(C) There was a fire in the boy’s room

(D) The family was religious

Passage

We felt a little like spies. My little brother and I had our noses pressed firmly against the window in our front den as we watched our new neighbors unpacking their U-Haul van. The license plate on their SUV passively announced that they had moved from the state of West Virginia I decided it was my civic duty to welcome them to Lexington, Kentucky!

According to the passage above, where did the family move from?

(A) Ohio

(B) West Virginia✔

(C) Kentucky

(D) Atlanta

Passage

On the 28th day of April in the year 1789, a group of men declared mutiny against their captain and took control of his ship, the HMS Bounty. The captain was William Bligh.

From the passage above, we can safely infer?

(A) Captain Bligh was a great leader

(B) It was a beautiful spring morning

(C) The men were unhappy with Captain Bligh✔

(D) HMS stands for His Majesty’s Ship

Passage

When I asked why they had moved to Lexington, Kentucky, the boy, whose name was Tony, explained that their house back in West Virginia had caught fire. Tony’s father heard his son, and had walked past by them and acknowledged me. "Tony was a brave young man that night," his father said proudly.

According to the passage above, how many people are engaged in conversation?

(A) One

(B) Two

(C) Three✔

(D) Four