Paragraph Comprehension test
20 questions at test level, the last 5 from earlier parts so you do not forget them. One at a time: pick an answer and read why. At the end you see your score and the lesson to review for every miss.
Passage: “The Lakeview community pool opens for the season on the Saturday before Memorial Day. On weekday mornings from 6 to 8, only lap swimmers may use it. In the afternoons, children under twelve may swim in the shallow end with an adult nearby. The deep end, however, opens only when two lifeguards are on duty, which usually means weekends.” According to the passage, what must be true for anyone to swim in the deep end?
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C. A detail question: find the line about the deep end. It “opens only when two lifeguards are on duty.” “Only when” gives the one condition. Weekends is the trap: the passage says that “usually” happens on weekends, not always, so a weekend alone is not enough. Weekday mornings belong to lap swimmers, and the adult rule is for children in the shallow end. The answer is Two lifeguards must be on duty.
Lesson: Detail questions
Passage: “The base library lends up to five books at a time for two weeks. A book can be renewed once, for two more weeks, as long as no one else has asked for it. There are no late fees, but anyone with a late book cannot borrow anything new until it comes back.” If no one else asks for it, what is the longest a borrower can keep one book before it is late?
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B. Put two details together. The first loan is two weeks. One renewal adds two more: 2 + 2 = 4 weeks. 2 weeks forgets the renewal. 5 is the number of books you can borrow, not a number of weeks. 7 adds the five books to the two weeks, mixing two different details. The answer is 4 weeks.
Lesson: Detail questions
Passage: “When the town moved its Saturday farmers market from the fairgrounds to the downtown square, some shop owners on the square worried that the stalls would block their doors and steal their customers. After one summer, most of those shops reported their best Saturdays in years. Market shoppers walked past every storefront, and many stepped inside. Some owners who had signed a letter against the move now help pay to keep the market open in winter.” Which statement best expresses the main idea?
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D. The passage has a turn. First the owners fear the market will steal their customers; after one summer, the shops have their best Saturdays and some of the same owners help pay for the market. The main idea has to hold both the fear and what really happened. Shoppers walking past every storefront is one supporting detail, so it is too narrow. The passage never tells other towns what to do, so “every town” is too broad. Losing customers is the fear, and the passage shows it did not come true. The answer is The market helped the shops the owners feared it would hurt.
Lesson: Main idea questions
Passage: “On his first day at the motor pool, Private Hall was handed a rag, a toolbox and a list of twelve trucks. ‘Start with the oldest one,’ the mechanic told him. ‘Learn that engine, and every other one on the list will feel easy.’” What does the mechanic most likely believe?
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A. Put the mechanic’s two sentences together: start with the oldest truck, because after it the others “will feel easy.” If the rest feel easy after it, the mechanic thinks it is the hardest. Nothing says Hall has worked on trucks before; it is his first day. Needing newer trucks is a guess the text never makes. And no one says all twelve must be done in one day. The answer is The oldest truck is the hardest one to learn.
Lesson: Inference questions
Passage: “At the trailhead, a sign read: ‘Last water on this trail: Mile 6.’ Jen looked at the two bottles in her pack, frowned, and walked back to the car for two more. The loop she had picked was 14 miles long.” What can most likely be inferred?
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C. Read the sign carefully: Mile 6 is the last place to get water, not the end of the trail. The loop is 14 miles, so after Mile 6 there are 14 − 6 = 8 miles with no water. Jen frowned at her two bottles and went back for two more, so she thought two would not be enough. “The trail is 6 miles long” misreads the sign. Nothing mentions a friend. Turning back at Mile 6 does not fit: she took more water to go farther. The answer is Jen worried two bottles would not last the hike.
Lesson: Inference questions
Passage: “Carla’s moving truck was due at nine. By eight, she had already labeled every box by room. The movers loaded the furniture first and the boxes last. Once the truck pulled away, she swept the empty rooms, did a final walk-through with the housing inspector, and turned in her keys. Her new apartment would not be ready until the next morning, so she spent that night at a friend’s.” What did Carla do right before she turned in her keys?
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D. Line up the steps after the truck leaves: she swept the rooms, then did the walk-through with the inspector, then turned in her keys. Right before the keys is the walk-through. Sweeping is two steps back, a trap for readers who grab the first thing after the truck. The movers loaded the boxes before the truck left, and the night at a friend’s came after the keys. The answer is Did a final walk-through with the inspector.
Lesson: Sequence of events
Passage: “Marisol’s unit landed at the airfield on a Thursday afternoon. Her husband had started repainting the kids’ bedroom two weeks earlier and finished it the night before she landed. That Thursday morning, the kids made a giant welcome sign, and on Sunday the whole family went out for pizza.” Which of these happened first?
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A. The passage starts with the landing, but that is not the first event. Build the timeline: two weeks before she landed, her husband started painting; the night before, he finished; Thursday morning the kids made the sign; Thursday afternoon she landed; on Sunday came the pizza. The landing is told first but happens fourth. Finishing the room and making the sign both come after the painting started. The answer is Her husband started repainting the bedroom.
Lesson: Sequence of events
Passage: “Most people think the climb is the hardest part of a mountain hike. Going up does take more breath, of course. Coming down, however, is harder on the knees, because each step lands with extra force. For that reason, many experienced hikers carry poles mainly for the walk down.” In the last sentence, “For that reason” points back to which idea?
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B. “For that reason” points back to the sentence just before it: coming down is harder on the knees, because each step lands with extra force. That is why hikers use poles on the way down. “Going up takes more breath” comes with “of course,” which only admits the other side before “however” turns away from it. The opening belief is the idea the writer argues against. Carrying poles is the result, not the reason. The answer is Coming down puts extra force on the knees.
Lesson: Connectors and signal words
Passage: “If you are moving off base for the first time, read the whole lease before you sign it. Find out who pays for water and trash, how many days’ notice you must give before moving out, and whether the rent can go up during the lease. Many leases also include a military clause that lets you leave early if you get orders. If yours does not, ask for one, and get it in writing.” The author’s main purpose is to…
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A. Look at the verbs: read, find out, ask, get it in writing. The passage speaks to “you” and tells a first-time renter what to do, so its purpose is to give advice. No one person’s move is told as a story. Life on base is never described, so nothing is compared, even though “off base” appears in the first line. Whether the rent can go up is one thing to look for, not a claim that landlords charge too much. The answer is Give advice to someone renting for the first time.
Lesson: Purpose, tone and cause-effect
Passage: “The city’s new bus-ticket app was supposed to make paying for a ride easier. Instead, riders must download it, create an account, confirm the account by email, type in their card number and pick a route, all while standing at the stop in the rain. The old paper ticket took five seconds.” The author’s tone is best described as…
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C. “Was supposed to” sets up a letdown, and “Instead” delivers it. The long list of steps, done “in the rain,” is there to make the app look slow, and the last line sets it next to a paper ticket that “took five seconds.” A neutral writer could list the same steps, but without that setup and that comparison. Nothing praises the app or looks forward to it getting better, so it is not admiring or hopeful. The tone is Critical.
Lesson: Purpose, tone and cause-effect
Passage: “At 5 a.m., the base gym is almost empty: a few runners on the track and one airman on a rowing machine. By 5 p.m., people wait in line for every bench and treadmill. To spread out the crowd, the base has turned an old supply building into a second gym and now keeps both open until midnight.” Why does the author describe the gym at 5 a.m. and at 5 p.m.?
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D. The two times are set side by side: almost empty early, a line for every bench later. That contrast shows the problem, and the last sentence gives the fix, a second gym “to spread out the crowd.” The two times are moments in the day, not the gym’s hours; the only hour given is midnight, at the end. The early airman is part of the picture, not someone being praised. The rowing machine is never explained. The answer is To show the crowding problem the second gym is meant to fix.
Lesson: Style and technique
Passage: “I still remember my first night of fire watch on the ship. The deck was dark and quiet, and I jumped every time a hatch clanged. Around three in the morning, an older sailor handed me a cup of coffee. ‘By spring you won’t even hear the hatches,’ he said. He was right, and years later I was the one handing out coffee to new sailors.” The author develops this passage mainly by…
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B. “I still remember,” “my first night of fire watch,” “I jumped”: the writer tells one memory in the first person, from the first nervous night to years later. The passage is about fire watch, but it gives no facts or numbers about the duty, only what happened to the writer. There is one ship, so nothing is compared, and there are no steps to follow. The answer is Telling a personal story.
Lesson: Style and technique
Passage: “Sergio wanted the new phone, but at $900 the price was steep for a private three months out of basic training. He kept his old phone for another year and put the money into savings.” As used in the passage, steep most nearly means…
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A. The clue is what Sergio did next: he kept his old phone and saved the money, so the price was more than he could pay. Rising sharply is the most common meaning, for a hill or a trail, but a price is not a slope. Soaked in hot water is what steep means for tea. Fair and reasonable is the opposite: if the price were fair, he would have bought the phone. The answer is Too high.
Lesson: Words in context
Passage: “Hilltop Movers charges a flat rate of $400 to move a one-bedroom apartment, whether the job takes three hours or eight. Most other companies bill by the hour, so a slow day costs the customer more.” As used in the passage, flat most nearly means…
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C. The clue comes right after the word: the price is $400 “whether the job takes three hours or eight.” The time changes and the price does not. The next sentence sets up the contrast: other companies charge by the hour. Smooth and level, a flat tire and a dull voice are all real meanings of flat, but a price cannot be level, airless or boring. The answer is The same no matter what.
Lesson: Words in context
Passage: “Volunteers at the base thrift shop sort donated uniforms, toys and kitchen goods three mornings a week. Prices are kept low so that young enlisted families can afford what they need. Every dollar the shop earns goes into scholarships for military children, and last year those scholarships helped eleven students start college.” Which title best fits the passage?
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D. A good title covers the whole passage. The shop helps families twice: low prices now, and college scholarships for their children later. Donated uniforms are one small detail, and the passage never explains how to donate. The cost of college is never discussed. “Military Life Is Expensive” is too broad and leaves out the shop. The answer is A Thrift Shop That Helps Families Now and Later.
Lesson: Main idea questions
A pancake recipe uses 3/4 cup of milk. For a squad breakfast, the cook makes 2 2/3 times the recipe. How much milk does he need?
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C. “Times the recipe” means multiply. First turn the mixed number into a fraction: 2 2/3 = 8/3, because 2 × 3 = 6 and 6 + 2 = 8. Now multiply: 3/4 × 8/3. The 3s cancel, and 8/4 = 2. So the cook needs 2 cups. 9/32 divides by 8/3 instead of multiplying. 1 1/2 multiplies only by the 2 and drops the 2/3: 2 × 3/4 = 1 1/2. 3 5/12 adds the two numbers instead of multiplying. The answer is 2 cups.
A moving truck drives 120 miles of highway at 60 mph, stops 45 minutes for lunch, then drives 120 miles of mountain road at 40 mph. How many hours does the whole trip take?
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D. Time = distance ÷ speed, one leg at a time. Highway: 120 ÷ 60 = 2 hours. Mountains: 120 ÷ 40 = 3 hours. The stop is 45 minutes, and 45 ÷ 60 = 0.75 hour. Total: 2 hours + 3 hours + 0.75 hour = 5.75 hours, which is 5 hours 45 minutes. 5 forgets the lunch stop. 5.45 writes 45 minutes as 0.45 hour, but an hour has 60 minutes, not 100. 5.55 averages the two speeds into 50 mph; the truck spends more time on the slow road, so that shortcut is wrong. The answer is 5.75 hours.
Lesson: Distance, rate and time
Six recruits scored 72, 88, 95, 64, 88 and 81 on a practice test. What is the median score?
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C. Sort first: 64, 72, 81, 88, 88, 95. With six scores, the median is halfway between the 3rd and 4th: 81 and 88. 81 + 88 = 169, and 169 ÷ 2 = 84.5. 79.5 averages 95 and 64, the middle pair before sorting. 81.3 is the mean, not the median. 88 is the mode, the score that shows up twice. The answer is 84.5.
Lesson: Mean, median and mode
What is the value of (2³)² ÷ 2⁴?
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B. A power of a power multiplies the exponents: (2³)² = 2⁶. Dividing powers of the same base subtracts the exponents: 2⁶ ÷ 2⁴ = 2², and 2² = 4. Check with plain numbers: 2³ = 8, 8² = 64, 2⁴ = 16, and 64 ÷ 16 = 4. 2 adds the exponents (3 + 2 = 5) instead of multiplying them, and 2⁵ ÷ 2⁴ = 2. 32 reads (2³)² as 2 to the 3², the 9th power, and 2⁹ ÷ 2⁴ = 2⁵. 1024 multiplies instead of dividing: 2⁶ × 2⁴ = 2¹⁰. The answer is 4.
Lesson: Exponents and roots
The clerk at the front desk gave a curt answer and went straight back to her screen. Curt most nearly means:
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A. Use the sentence: the clerk answered and “went straight back to her screen,” so the answer was brief and brushed the person off. Curt means using very few words in a way that feels rude. Loud and angry is close in feeling, but curt is about being short, not about volume. Kind and patient is the opposite. Neatly cut is the look-alike trap: curt looks like cut, but it describes how someone speaks. The answer is Short and rude.
Lesson: The precise meaning