Reading Practice Test 1 - My Career Tools

Each question has a few answer choices. Choose the best answer for each question. At the end of the quiz, you will see your results.

1. Which word/phrase in the sentence below is redundant and can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence?After receiving two different results, the students decided to repeat the experiment again to hopefully find some consistency among them.

A.two

B.again

C.hopefully

D.consistency

Question 1 of 10

2. 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?

A.However

B.As a result

C.For instance

D.As a matter of fact

Question 2 of 10

3. A recent study produced groundbreaking results related to teens and social media use. , teens spend less time using social media than previously thought.

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

A.However

B.Evidently

C.As a result

D.For instance

Question 3 of 10

4. 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?

A.George Washington Carver contributed many ideas and research to agriculture.

B.Peanuts can be used to make makeup and plastics.

C.George Washington Carver educated farming families on healthy eating habits.

D.George Washington Carver invented peanut butter.

Question 4 of 10

5. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or to pay taxes and fines and is a peaceful form of political protest. Just because something is the law doesn’t mean it is right. For example, segregation used to be legal in this country, and it was only changed by many years of dedicated civil disobedience by people who wanted to do what was right, not just what was legal. Civil disobedience makes the government more accountable and is sometimes the only way that laws that are deeply rooted in damaging customs (like segregation) can be changed. Some Americans that are famous for their civil disobedience are Rosa Parks, who refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery Alabama, and Martin Luther King Jr. who advocated peaceful civil disobedience as a way to advance the rights of black Americans. Our country is what it is today largely thanks to acts of civil disobedience by brave and thoughtful Americans.

Civil disobedience has contributed to what our country is today:

A.True

B.False

Question 5 of 10

6. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or to pay taxes and fines and is a peaceful form of political protest. Just because something is the law doesn’t mean it is right. For example, segregation used to be legal in this country, and it was only changed by many years of dedicated civil disobedience by people who wanted to do what was right, not just what was legal. Civil disobedience makes the government more accountable and is sometimes the only way that laws that are deeply rooted in damaging customs (like segregation) can be changed. Some Americans that are famous for their civil disobedience are Rosa Parks, who refused to give her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery Alabama, and Martin Luther King Jr. who advocated peaceful civil disobedience as a way to advance the rights of black Americans. Our country is what it is today largely thanks to acts of civil disobedience by brave and thoughtful Americans.

Civil disobedience is:

A.Breaking the law

B.A peaceful form of political protest

C.Bad behavior

Question 6 of 10

7. The albatross is a big bird that spends most of its time flying over oceans. It is about three feet tall when it is standing, and its wingspan can get up to eight feet, which is quite a bit longer than an average‐sized man.
The albatross returns to land to breed and mates for life. The female lays only one egg, and both parents care for the baby. Most albatrosses live for around 30 years, but they can live to
be as old as 70! Albatrosses eat crabs, fish, squid, and sometimes dead penguins. They either snatch food from the water’s surface or dive for it. They have to be careful of tiger sharks, who will make a meal out of an albatross if they can catch one. The albatross is an endangered species. They often die when diving into the ocean for food because they get tangled in fishing lines and drown. Being followed by an albatross while at sea is supposed to be good luck.

How many eggs does an albatross lay?

A.The female lays only one egg.

B.The female lays around 5 eggs.

Question 7 of 10

8. 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.

What evidence in the text supports your answer in question 1?

A.Maritime wars are cheaper; people are more likely to part with money than with human lives; being defeated in a maritime war doesn’t compromise the independence of the losing side; the nations of Europe are smaller and have far fewer people than America, making a land war impractical.

B.It is easier for a European country to conduct a maritime war with the U.S. than a land war.

Question 8 of 10

9. 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.

A.Cause & Effect

B.Sequence/Process

C.Spatial/Descriptive

Question 9 of 10

10. Choose the main idea sentence in the paragraph below.For centuries, people have had different ways of trying to cure their hiccups. Many people drink water to get rid of their hiccups. Other people hold their breath until their hiccups go away. Some people even have their friends or their family spook them to scare away the hiccups. What are some ways that you know of to rid of your hiccups?

A.For centuries, people have had different ways of trying to cure their hiccups.

B.Many people drink water to get rid of their hiccups.

C.Other people hold their breath until their hiccups go away. Some people even have their friends or their family spook them to scare away the hiccups.

D.What are some ways that you know of to rid of your hiccups?

Question 10 of 10

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This quick quiz gives you practice in identifying correct and incorrect usage of standard English grammar and reading comprehension. You can identify your weaknesses and strong points. Clear explanations of each correct answer are also provided at the end of the quiz.

This practice test also helps you with improving your reading strategies.

As students progress through school, they are asked to read increasingly complex informational and graphical texts in their courses.

The ability to understand and use the information in these texts is key to a student’s success in learning.

Reading is a thinking process. Effective readers know that when they read, what they read is supposed to make sense.

Reading is a process of finding meaning in a text. Writers use many ways to convey the meaning of words and concepts. Some are overt and some are subtle. These clues include definitions, examples, descriptions, illustrations, clarification, parenthetical notes, comparison, and elaboration.