Reading Practice Test

It can reasonably be inferred that which of the following characters from the passage lives according to Abshu's definition of a life fully lived?

Abshu as an adult

Which of the following statements about Abshu's attitude toward his mother's choices early in his life is supported by the passage?

Abshu wonders if she might have made a better decision about letting him and his siblings go into foster care, even though he understands why she did it.

Which of the following statements provides the most accurate comparison of the tone of each passage?

Both passages begin by conveying some sense of the narrator's wonder but conclude with a note of disenchantment.

According to the passage, a lawyer contemplating using insanity as a defense for a client should do which of the following?

Carefully evaluate using the defense, since in actual practice it rarely works

It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that which of the following is a cherished dream that Abshu expects to make a reality in his lifetime?

Expanding for some, if not all, of the children the vision they have of themselves and their futures

It can reasonably be inferred from the passage that Abshu and the Masons would agree with which of the following statements about the best way to raise a child?

For a child to thrive and be a responsible member of society, he or she must develop a sense of discipline.

The last paragraph of Passage A (lines 37-49) marks a shift in the passage from:

a description of events leading up to a sudden action by the narrator to a reflection on the intentions and meanings behind that action.

The passage states that, in terms of development, the average baby should be able to:

form explicit memories at about nine months of age.

The last paragraph suggests that the formation of synapses occurs most rapidly:

from the time a child is about six months old until that child is about ten years old.

The passage states that McNaghten wanted to kill the English prime minister because the Scotsman thought that he:

had been wronged by the minister.

According to the passage, which of the following most closely identifies Abshu's definition of a life fully lived?

Happiness in your work and love in your house

Which of the following most nearly paraphrases Helen Hunt Jackson's statement to Emily Dickinson that "it is wrong to the day you live in, that you will not sing aloud" (lines 35-36)?

It is unfair to this age that you do not share your poetry with the world.

Which of the following most fully lists solutions considered by the author to the problem that the list of beloved women poets is not nearly as long as the list of beloved men poets?

Reappraising the literary canon, adding new women's names to the list, weighing the importance of some male poets, and reading work by women as yet not widely read

According to the explanation provided in the fourth paragraph (lines 43-58), use of the word appreciate in the phrase "to appreciate the wrongfulness" (lines 48-49) instead of know implies which of the following?

The word appreciate suggests that an action and that action's implications must be understood for there to be legal responsibility.

Which of the following most clearly distinguishes between the "two ways" suggested by the author's assertion that "we can't have it both ways" (line 54)?

Women haven't written as well as men because they have not had the same educational opportunities, yet there are many great women writers no one reads.

The fifth paragraph (lines 53-70) suggests that one of the main causes of pruning is:

a lack of stimulation.

The author feels that "all this rating and counting and classifying of authors" (lines 61-62) is:

an example of giving in to a competitive approach to literature, which the author feels is counterproductive.

As it is used in line 30, the phrase something innate most nearly means:

an inherited trait.

The point of view from which the passage is told can best be described as that of:

an unidentified narrator describing a man who devoted his life to neighborhood children years after his own difficult childhood.

It may reasonably be inferred from lines 10-17 that James Merrill respected Elizabeth Bishop's poetry:

and wished that reaction to her poems had not been complicated by gender issues.

According to the third paragraph (lines 25-39), Emily Dickinson's career was helped by Helen Hunt Jackson, who:

encouraged her; Mabel Loomis Todd, who transcribed her work using a bizarre machine; and Lavinia Dickinson, who rescued her work from oblivion.

The main point of this passage is to:

illustrate the importance of stimulation and experience in the formation of a baby's brain.

The main point made in the second, third, and fourth paragraphs (lines 14-52) is that the structure of a baby's brain:

is still developing after the child is born.

In Passage A, the narrator's descriptions of Armstrong suggest that she sees him as ultimately:

isolated and alone.

According to the passage, one of the reasons some mental health and legal groups want to abolish the insanity defense is that:

juries that must sort out conflicting testimony become confused, and justice suffers.

The passage suggests that individuals who use the insanity defense:

might risk a lifelong confinement even if acquitted by a jury, if the acquittal is based on insanity.

Based on the passage, the primary purpose for the 1970s redefinition of insanity proposed by the American Law Institute was to:

more precisely define the concepts of responsibility and intellectual capacity.

When the author refers to "entrepreneurs preying on the anxieties of new parents" (lines 60-61), she is most likely suggesting that new parents should:

not be deceived by advertising that claims certain products will increase a baby's intelligence.

When she compares a baby's brain to city neighborhoods, the author is most nearly illustrating her point that:

regions of the brain are awakened through experience.

Compared to the narrator of Passage A, the narrator of Passage B provides more information about:

the order of events throughout the moon landing broadcast.

It can reasonably be inferred from the first paragraph that in obtaining outside funding for the community center, Abshu could be characterized as:

thorough in seeking out potential sources for financial backing.

Based on the passage, the information about Luna City and Mars provided in lines 80-84 is most likely meant to represent the:

types of advances in space exploration the narrator anticipated would happen next.

One of the main points made in the last paragraph is that insanity pleas were:

unconvincing to most juries in California in 1980.

The fourth paragraph (lines 31-37) establishes all of the following EXCEPT:

what Abshu remembered most about his years with the Masons.

Which of the following sentences best summarizes the first paragraph?

If we admit that there is not enough quality poetry written by women, it can make it easier to discover why this is so, and help us change the situation.

Which of the following statements about the children entering the community center is supported by the passage?

In Abshu's eyes, they were all gifted.

Which of the following best states the author's response to Matthew Arnold's view of the function of criticism (lines 65-76)?

It makes her wonder who decides what is good, yet she knows most readers think they know what good poetry is and don't have time to read bad poetry.

Which of the following would the author of the passage be LEAST likely to recommend as a way to strengthen the synapses of a baby's brain?

Teaching a baby with flashcards

The last paragraph suggests that those who would reevaluate, and perhaps want to devalue, the work of famous male poets should above all be:

cautious

The narrator's statement "I am looking at the MOON, I told myself, I am looking at the MOON" (lines 60-62) is most nearly meant to:

convey the narrator's awe at the event that is being broadcast.

The narrator of Passage A most nearly suggests that her family is angry and annoyed with her for clanking her fork on her plate because the noise:

disrupts the family's observance of a momentous event.

Passage B indicates that compared to the narrator's expectation about how the first person walking on the moon would be televised, the broadcast itself was:

dissimilar; the narrator had expected to see Armstrong's moon walk shortly after the lunar vehicle landed.

It can reasonably be inferred that after seeing the first man walk on the moon, compared to the narrator of Passage B, the narrator of Passage A felt:

less able to appreciate the celebration surrounding the man on the moon.

According to the passage, one thing PET allows neurobiologists to do is:

observe activity in the frontal cortex of a baby's brain.

One of the author's main points about the legal concept of responsibility in the passage is that:

responsibility and guilt are legal concepts, and their meanings can be modified

From information in the third and fourth paragraphs (lines 35-58) it can reasonably be inferred that the legal definition of insanity was changed in the 1970s after:

several courts found that justice was not always best served when the McNaghten Rule was applied.

It may reasonably be inferred that the author considers Emily Dickinson "one of the luckiest great writers who ever lived" (lines 42-43) in part because:

she lived in isolation, which allowed her much time to write.

The passage indicates that the McNaghten case became the basis for future decisions about legal insanity because:

the House of Lords upheld the verdict of the court despite considerable political pressure.