Reading Practice Test 3

1. Read the text and answer the question. Goodbye Pencil, Hello KeyboardLook around a modern-day classroom today and you will certainly note many changes from the classrooms of the past. Overhead projectors and chalkboards have been replaced; desks rarely feature a piece of paper, but rather sport a computer monitor. In addition, the days of taking notes, filling out tests, and writing reports with a pen or pencil in hand is utterly obsolete, exchanged for keyboards.

In more than 40 states throughout the country, cursive writing and penmanship are no longer considered an essential part of the curriculum, and none of the major standardized tests require any type of handwriting. Instead, keyboarding skills have taken precedence. The ability to form clear curves and loops on the paper is now outdated; the ability to avoid the painfully slow “hunting and pecking” and type at least 50 words per minute has taken precedence.

The age-old tradition of handwriting is not going quietly in some parts of the nation as at least four states have gone to their legislatures with bills mandating instruction in cursive writing in public schools. Advocates of keeping penmanship skills as part of a curriculum point to a plethora of evidence to support their stance. According to their studies, handwriting training helps young students develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and even improve overall memory retention. Additional studies have indicated that students who wrote by hand not only wrote faster than on a standard keyboard, but also wrote higher quality sentences.

Opponents to cursive in the classroom, however, point out that today’s generations of students have been keyboarding since before they attended kindergarten. This form of communication is part of how their brains operate, and many find the feel of a pen or pencil in their hands uncomfortable, unwieldy, and generally unpleasant. Keyboarding is quicker, freeing up precious time to work on other projects, and is, inarguably, the preferred communication method of the modern student.

Less than half of the states in the U.S have stopped teaching cursive as part of their curriculum.

2. DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and identify how the information is being organized.A butterfly is an insect with two pairs of large wings. The wings are covered with tiny scales, which usually have bright colors. When a butterfly is at rest, these wings are usually pressed together and held straight up from the butterfly’s back. Butterflies only fly during the day. They have antennae, and they use a long tube called a proboscis to drink nectar from flowers.

3. Occasional drug use during the teenage years causes problems in the adult years. Many adults who responded that they used drugs occasionally as teenagers also noted a lapse in short-term memory.                    , the same adults noted that the lapse in short-term memory did not start during their teen years.

Which transition best connects the two pieces of supporting evidence?

4. 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.

5. Which word/phrase in the sentence below is redundant and can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence?After a traumatic event, children often revert back to behaviors they exhibited as babies.

6. Read the following short biography below and identify the main idea.Even though George Washington Carver is very well known for the agricultural work that he did with the peanut plant, he also did a lot of work with research and education about other types of crops. In his adult life, George Washington Carver did research into soybean and sweet potato plants, and taught many farming families proper nutrition so that they could feed themselves well and live a healthy lifestyle. He also created around 100 products that could be made directly from peanuts, such as various types of makeup, gasoline, and plastics.

What is the main idea of this biography?

7. 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.

Since this his inauguration speech, JFK uses it as an opportunity to puff up himself and share all of his qualifications.

8. DIRECTIONS: Read each passage and identify how the information is being organized.It is better to eat a variety of fresh fruit than it is to drink fruit juice from a bottle. Fresh fruit contains fiber, which makes your body absorb sugar more slowly so that it is easier to digest your food. Fruit juices, on the other hand, are not only a concentrated source of natural sugars, but many store‐bought juices contain a lot of added sugar, too.

 

9. 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?

10. Despite their claims, many vegans find it difficult to add enough protein to their diet.                , compare the amount of protein in a serving of meat to the amount of protein found in a serving of nuts. While the nuts offer a substantial amount of protein, it would take multiple servings to match the amount of proteins in the meat.

Which transition best connects the evidence to the claim that supports it?