Reading Practice Test 2

1. DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and identify how the information is being organized.It is possible to change how you feel about certain foods. If you want to learn to like a food that is good for you, take the following steps. First, imagine all the good things that it is doing in your body. It is making your organs healthy. It is giving you energy. It is making your muscles grow. Next, think about something that you want to be able to do. If you are an athlete, imagine scoring the winning point. If you are an artist or a poet, imagine having the concentration to do the work you want to do. Finally, keep these positive thoughts in mind the next time you try the unfamiliar food. You may not love it at first, but as you continue to tell yourself that eating this food is going to help you be what you want to be, the food will start to taste better to you.

2. DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and identify how the information is being organized.The butterfly has an interesting life cycle. It is hatched from an egg as a caterpillar. The caterpillar, called a larva, does nothing but eat until its pupa stage, when it seals itself up into a cocoon and goes through a transformation. It emerges from the cocoon as a butterfly, which is its adult stage. The adult butterfly lays eggs of its own and eventually dies.

 

3. Read about the artist. Then answer the question below.

Vincent Van Gogh was born in 1853. He is a very famous artist now. But during his lifetime, hardly anyone knew about him or his work. Today his paintings are among the most expensive artworks in the world. But Vincent only sold one painting while he was alive. Vincent was born in Holland, where the weather is usually dark and rainy. When he grew up, he moved to the south of France, where the sun shines more brightly and colors are more vivid. Vincent loved bright colors, and he used them boldly in all of his paintings. He used a lot of paint, and applied it in very thick strokes so that his paintings actually have texture. Vincent painted a lot of pictures of flowers in vases, and a lot of landscapes. He also painted still lifes, buildings and people. Two of his most famous paintings are called Starry Night, and Sunflowers. Most artists sign their name on their painting when they have finished it. But in 1888, Vincent painted four pictures of sunflowers. He only signed two of the paintings. Art experts believe that this is because he wasn’t happy with the other two. Today you can see his paintings in museums all around the world.

How many paintings did Vincent sell in his lifetime?

4. Recently, a study discovered that the nation's healthy lunch initiative has not had a positive effect in schools.                , the study discovered that more students throw away uneaten fruits and opt to eat snacks brought from home.

Which transition word best connects the evidence with the analysis of the evidence?

5. DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and identify how the information is being organized.Nutrients are the things in healthy food that are good for your body. Foods that contain a lot of nutrients are called nutrient‐dense foods. Some nutrient‐dense foods include protein, fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy.

 

 

6. Read the text and answer the question.In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again - not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" - a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shank from this responsibility - I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

In the infamous line, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country," what is Kennedy asking people to do?

7. It is true that the powers of Europe may carry on maritime wars with the Union, but there is always greater facility and less danger in supporting a maritime than a continental war. Maritime warfare only requires one species of effort. A commercial people who consent to furnish its government with the necessary funds are sure to possess a fleet. And it is far easier to induce a nation to part with its money, almost unconsciously, than to reconcile it to sacrifices of men and personal efforts. Moreover, defeat by sea rarely compromises the existence or independence of the people which endures it. As for continental wars, it is evident that the nations of Europe cannot be formidable in this way to the American Union. It would be very difficult to transport and maintain in America more than 25,000 soldiers; an army which may be considered to represent a nation of about 2,000,000 men. The most populous nation of Europe contending in this way against the Union is in the position of a nation of 2,000,000 of inhabitants at war with one of 12,000,000. Add to this, that America has all its resources within reach, whilst the European is at 4,000 miles distance from his; and that the immensity of the American continent would of itself present an insurmountable obstacle to its conquest.

Briefly summarize the main idea of the text.

8. Paper or plastic? It's a question frequently asked at grocery stores around the world. However, many cities have started to ban plastic shopping bags. While cheaper than paper bags, plastic bags pose a risk to animals in the ocean.                , these bags have been directly tied to an increase in the number of oceanic animals found on the endangered species list.

Which transition best connects the two pieces of supporting evidence?

9. DIRECTIONS: Identify the structure of each passage.Though it is very cold in Antarctica, penguins do not get cold because they have a very thick layer of fat all over their body called blubber. In some cases, the blubber is several inches thick. Similarly, whales, seals, and other animals that live on and in the water around Antarctica also have blubber.

10. 0

Read the following short biography below and identify the main idea.If the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is turn on a light, you can thank Thomas Edison. This inventor - who was born in Ohio but spent much of his time working in New Jersey - is famous for a variety of inventions, including the light bulb. But that's not all he contributed. Thomas Edison was known for inventing the phonograph, which was a machine that is able to record sound and play it back. It was the first of its kind back then! He also invented not just the light bulb, but the switches that we use to turn the lights on and off. Another one of his most famous inventions is the motion picture camera, which was used to make movies. These were groundbreaking inventions in his day!

What is the main idea of this biography?