ACCUPLACER READING PRACTICE
July 2008
- The reading comprehension test tests your critical thinking skills.
- Can you read the information and analyze what you have just read?
- Number One Rule: Read actively – just don’t look at the words
- Get engaged in the reading somehow!!
- If this means taking notes to help keep you focused, then take notes!!
- Keep your mind working at all times.
- Try to anticipate where the author’s points are leading.
- Paraphrase (rewrite) complicated sounding ideas and jargon.
- Try to make connections between the new reading and what you already know.
- Think about why the author is writing and where he or she is going with it.
- “What’s the author’s main point here?”
- “Why was this paragraph included here in the story?”
- Don’t try to memorize details (take notes)
- Look for the topic sentence to help you determine the function of each paragraph.
- Be alert for comparisons and contrasts.
- Take notes as your read.
- Read all the multiple choices for answers before choosing one.
- If you have trouble, eliminate as many choices as you can (narrow it down).
- Find support for your answer in the reading passage. Don’t put in additional information that you might “think” should be there. The answers should be implied or stated in the reading passage – you just have to find the “clues”.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Japan’s capital city has been Tokyo, meaning “eastern capital”, for more than 100 years. Kyoto was the great capital for over a thousand years. Today’s noisy Tokyo was completely rebuilt after its ruin in World War II. Kyoto was also scheduled to be bombed, but, as one American argued at the time, “It would be like destroying Rome or Jerusalem. It’s not just a Japanese treasure, but a world treasure!” Kyoto was spared. Today, mellowed by 12 centuries, it has the grace of old silver. Tokyo is Japan’s dynamic today, Kyoto her perfumed yesterday. Tokyo is her brain, Kyoto her soul.
1. What two subjects is the writer comparing and contrasting?
a. Japan and the U.S.
b. Tokyo’s role in WWII and Kyoto’s role in WWII.
c. Tokyo and Kyoto
2. What is the main way in which Tokyo and Kyoto are similar?
a. both were ruined during WWII
b. both are noisy
c. both served as Japan’s capital
3. What is one way the histories of Tokyo and Kyoto differ?
a. Tokyo was more important.
b. Tokyo was bombed duringWWII and Kyoto was not.
c. Tokyo was never rebuilt.
4. In the last three sentences, the Author compares the two by:
a. explaining how the war changed them
b. using a quotation
c. giving sensory descriptions of them.
Continues on next page…
COMPARE AND CONTRAST (cont.)
Muslims share many beliefs with Christians. Muslims are followers of Islam, which was begun in the 7th century by Mohammad. Like Christians, Muslims believe in one God; the Muslims call their God Allah. One difference between the religions is that Christians believe that Christ is the son of God and Muslims regard Christ as a minor prophet. Otherwise there are other similarities. Both faiths believe in an afterlife. They both have a holy book. For Christians, this book is the Bible; for Muslims, the Koran. Both also have a house of worship. The Muslim equivalent of the church is called a mosque.
1. Which of the following is nota similarity between the two religions?
a. Both have a house of worship.
b. Both believe in one God.
c. Both were started in the 7th century.
d. Both have a holy book.
2. What conclusion can you draw from comparing and contrasting the two religions?
a. All religions worship one God.
b. World religions had the same beginning.
c. The world’s religions have many similarities.
d. All religions have a holy book.
The end.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
“The hamburger end of the fast food industry is facing the long-awaited problem of saturation,” says analyst Michael Culp at the brokerage firm of Bache Halsey Stuart Shields. “It’s increasingly difficult to open more restaurants, and it’s harder to sell more hamburgers.” Thus, to maintain their growth momentum, the industry’s big names are moving aggressively to steal each other’s customers, enlarge their menus, and spawn new fast-food concepts.
1. What is the cause of the fast food industry trying to steal each others customers and enlarge their menus?
a. They are spawning new concepts.
b. People don’t like hamburgers anymore.
c. It’s becoming harder to sell more hamburgers.
2. What is the main point of this passage?
a. Michael Culp thinks Americans will stop eating hamburgers.
b. Since it’s difficult to sell more hamburgers, the fast food industry is trying new ideas to keep growing.
c. Many fast food restaurants are closing down.
There are several possible reasons why retail prices are set to end on certain odd or even numbers. The practice is supposed to have started many years ago when retailers priced products so that clerks were forced to record the sale and make change. This discouraged the clerks from pocketing the money from sales. Some people believe that the practice of odd-even pricing continues today because consumers view these prices as bargains. If the price of the shirt is only $14.95, then they are able to spend “less than $15 for a shirt.”
1. The main idea of this passage is
a. A shirt selling for $14.95 is a better bargain than a $15 shirt.
b. Clerks used to steal money when they didn’t have to make change.
c. The practice of retail prices ending with even or odd numbers began many years ago and continues today.
2. What was the result of clerks pocketing money from sales many years ago?
a. Retail prices were changed to end on certain odd or even numbers.
b. Consumers now get better bargains.
c. Clerks lost their jobs.
DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
Review:
Exception: someone/something not included in the group
Cause: Tells why something is as it is
Effect: The result of something that has happened
There is a lack of quality in our education system.
Her son attends an excellent high school
What does the second sentence do?
a. Gives a causeb. Makes an exception
c. Gives an exampled. Confirms the first statement
Tracy is afraid of cats.
She was bitten by one when she was a child.
What does the second sentence do?
a. Gives a cause.b. Gives an example.
c. Makes an exceptiond. Confirms the first statement
The cost of foreign cars is very high.
Purchases of American cars are rising.
What does the second sentence do?
a. Gives a causeb. Gives an example.
c. Makes an exceptiond. Gives an effect.
New Terms:
Drawing Conclusions: Making a decision based on the facts given. If I come into the room with a dripping umbrella, you can conclude it is raining outside. A person must draw conclusions to solve mysteries:
Clarence Higgenbottom was a famous British millionaire who was found dead on the floor of his library at 7 p.m. on a Saturday evening. He was shot through the heart. The detective found the following facts:
- Higgenbottom was shot with a Ruger .22 pistol, which is not in the library now.
- The butler heard a shot at 4:40 p.m. He thought someone was hunting rabbits.
- The police doctor, who examined the body at 8:00 p.m., said Higgenbottom had been dead 3-4 hours at that time.
- Two people recently threatened Higgenbottom. J.J. Percy hated him because Higgenbottom was ruining his business. Bob Jones, the ex-gardener, was fired on Friday. Friday night, he was at the local tavern, yelling that “people like Higgenbottom ought to be shot.
- J.J. Percy said he was in a meeting with his banker from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
- Bob Jones ran into a telephone pole late Friday night and has been in the hospital since then.
- Percy’s banker said that Percy left their meeting early, at about 4:30, saying he had a doctor’s appointment.
- Percy’s doctor said Percy had no appointment with him on Saturday.
What conclusion can you draw based on these facts?
Example: a part, model, or instance of something that illustrates or shows something about the whole. A specific painting would be an example of an artist’s work.
There is an increased concern today with exercise and health.
More people are jogging today than ever before.
The 2nd sentence is an example of statement made in the first sentence.
Please read the following excerpt from an article and answer the questions that follow:
Perhaps we should give a hand to Linda Hamilton’s arms. After the “Terminator 2” actress unveiled her buff biceps eight years ago, more and more women ventured where none dared go before, embracing weight lifting, boxing, rock climbing, martial arts, and almost every other form of vigorous exercise once known only to men. “There is no gender difference in working out anymore,” says Radu, a New York City trainer whose clients include Cindy Crawford. It’s not just about vanity-although the possibility of banishing cellulite forever is certainly part of the lure of extreme exercise. Intense workouts also head off osteoporosis and depression and build self-esteem, says Dr. Miriam Nelson, author of “Strong Women Stay Young”: “The whole mind-body connection is really there.” And there’s probably the lift that comes from knowing that whatever he can do, you can probably do better.
Which of the following conclusions does this article support?
a. Intense exercise is the most popular form of exercise for women today.
b. Intense exercise is good for everyone.
c. Intense exercise has several benefits for women.
What are two examples from the article that support that intense exercise can be beneficial for women?
1. ______
2. ______
More sample sentences:
In the 1970’s, disco music was very popular.
The soundtrack from “Saturday Night Fever” was at the top of the charts during this time.
What does the 2nd sentence do?
a. Gives a causeb. Gives an exception
c. Gives an effectd. Gives an example
Everyone at the restaurant who ate chicken salad got violently ill.
The chicken salad was contaminated.
What does the 2nd sentence do?
a. Gives a causeb. Draws a conclusion
c. Gives an exampled. Gives an exception
READING PRACTICE
SEQUENCING FOR THE ACCUPLACER
Questions by Jennifer Brady, Basic Skills Instructor
DavidsonCountyCommunity College
Fall 2007
In 1892 the Sierra Club was formed. In 1908 an area of coastal redwood trees north of San Francisco was established as MuirWoodsNational Monument. In the Sierra Nevada mountains, a walking trail from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney was dedicated in 1938. It is called John Muir Trail.
John Muir was born in 1838 in Scotland. His family name means “moor,” which is a meadow full of flowers and animals. John loved nature from the time he was small. He also liked to climb rocky cliffs and walls.
When John was eleven, his family moved to the United States and settled in Wisconsin. John was good with tools and soon became an inventor. He first invented a model of a sawmill. Later he invented an alarm clock that would cause the sleeping person to be tipped out of bed when the timer sounded.
Muir left home at an early age. He took a thousand-mile walk south to the Gulf of Mexico in 1867and 1868. Then he sailed for San Francisco. The city was too noisy and crowded for Muir, so he headed inland for the Sierra Nevadas.
When Muir discovered the Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevadas, it was as if he had come home. He loved the mountains, the wildlife, and the trees. He climbed the mountains and even climbed trees during thunderstorms in order to get closer to the wind. He put forth the theory in the late 1860’s that the Yosemite Valley had been formed through the action of glaciers. People ridiculed him. Not until 1930 was Muir’s theory proven correct.
Muir began to write articles about the Yosemite Valley to tell readers about its beauty. His writing also warned people that Yosemite was in danger from timber mining and sheep ranching interests. In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States. He was interested in conservation. Muir took the president through Yosemite, and Roosevelt helped get legislation passed to create YosemiteNational Park in 1906.
Although Muir won many conservation battles, he lost a major one. He fought to save the HetchValley, which people wanted to dam in order to provide water for San Francisco. In the late 1913 a bill was signed to dam the valley. Muir died in 1914. Some people say losing the fight to protect the valley killed Muir.
/ The Muir family moved to the United States.
/ Muir Woods was created.
/ John Muir learned to climb rocky cliffs.
/ John Muir walked to the Gulf of Mexico
/ Muir visited along the east coast.
When did Muir invent a unique form of alarm clock?
/ while the family still lived in Scotland
/ after he sailed to San Francisco
/ after he traveled in Yosemite
/ while the Muir family lived in Wisconsin
/ after he took the long walk
What did John Muir do soon after he arrived in San Francisco?
/ He ran outside during an earthquake.
/ He put forth a theory about how Yosemite was formed.
/ He headed inland for the Sierra Nevadas.
/ He began to write articles about the Sierra Nevadas.
/ He wrote short stories for the local newspaper.
When did John Muir meet Theodore Roosevelt?
/ between 1901 and 1906
/ between 1838 and 1868
/ between 1906 and 1914
/ between 1868 and 1901
/ between 1906-1907
What happened last?
/ John Muir died.
/ John Muir Trail was dedicated.
/ Muir’s glacial theory was proven.
/ The Sierra Club was formed.
/ John’s family visited him.
The first person in the group starts off by naming anything that is geographical. It could be a city, state, country, river, lake, or any proper geographical term. For example, the person might say,”Boston.” The second person has ten seconds to think of how the word ends and come up with another geographical term starting with that letter. The second participant might say, “Norway,” since the geographical term has to start with “N.” The third person would have to choose a word beginning with “ Y.” If a player fails to think of a correct answer within the time limit, that player is out of the game. The last person to survive is the champion.
This game may help you with-/ history
/ music
/ geography
/ sports
/ current events
The person trying to answer needs-
/ no time limit
/ to know geography only
/ to ignore the last letters of words
/ to know something about spelling and geography
/ to be a good speller
Before you choose your own word, think about how-
/ the last word starts
/ the last word ends
/ smart you are
/ long the last word is
/ the spelling of the first word
The answer must be-
/ in New York
/ within the United States
/ proper geographical terms
/ in the same region
/ along a coast line
Charles A. Lindbergh is remembered as the first person to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, in 1927. This feat, when Lindbergh was only twenty-five years old, assured him a lifetime of fame and public attention.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was more interested in flying airplanes than he was in studying. He dropped out of the University of Wisconsin after two years to earn a living performing daredevil airplane stunts at country fairs. Two years later, he joined the United States Army so that he could go to the Army Air Service flight-training school. After completing his training, he was hired to fly mail between St. Louis and Chicago.
Then came the historic flight across the Atlantic. In 1919, a New York City hotel owner offered a prize of $25,000 to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Nine St. Louis business leaders helped pay for the plane Lindbergh designed especially for the flight. Lindbergh tested the plane by flying it from San Diego to New York, with an overnight stop in St. Louis. The flight took only 20 hours and 21 minutes, a transcontinental record.
Nine days later, on May 20,1927, Lindbergh took off from Long Island, New York, at 7:52 A. M. He landed at Paris on May 21 at 10:21 P. M. He had flown more than 3,600 miles in less than thirty four hours. His flight made news around the world. He was given awards and parades everywhere he went. He was presented with the U. S. Congressional Medal of Honor and the first Distinguished Flying Cross. For a long time, Lindbergh toured the world as a U. S. goodwill ambassador. He met his future wife, Anne Morrow, in Mexico, where her father was the United States ambassador.
During the 1930s, Charles and Anne Lindbergh worked for various airline companies, charting new commercial air routes. In 1931, for a major airline, they charted a new route from the east coast of the United States to the Orient. The shortest, most efficient route was a great curve across Canada, over Alaska, and down to China and Japan. Most pilots familiar with the Arctic did not believe that such a route was possible. The Lindberghs took on the task of proving that it was. They arranged for fuel and supplies to be set out along the route. On July 29, they took off from Long Island in a specially equipped small seaplane. They flew by day and each night landed on a lake or a river and camped. Near Nome, Alaska, they had their first serious emergency. Out of daylight and nearly out of fuel, they were forced down in a small ocean inlet. In the next morning’s light, they discovered they had landed on barely three feet of water. On September 19, after two more emergency landings and numerous close calls, they landed in China with the maps for a safe airline passenger route.