Critical Reading and Comprehension Quiz

Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

Joseph Pilates was born in 1880 in Germany. He was a frail child and wished he could find a way to build up strength. During World War I, he worked as a nurse in the army and developed a set of exercises for patients to increase their strength. After the war, he moved to New York City and developed his method of exercise into what is known as Pilates.

According to the passage, Joseph Pilates __________.

• had both personal and professional reasons to develop exercise methods.

• used his exercise methods for his own purposes

• knew much about anatomy but had little interest in exercise.

• demonstrated great physical strength throughout his entire life.

Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Carrots and apples are very healthy foods.

Dietitians often eat these foods and recommend them to patients.

How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?

• It repeats the same idea as the first sentence.

• It supports the first sentence.

• It gives a solution to the first sentence.

• It disagrees with the first sentence.

Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

Recycling is the process of taking used materials and transforming them into usable goods. Common items for recycling include plastics, aluminum cans, glass, and paper. Recycling has become popular among consumers within the last thirty years. Recycling can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the environment and is a major factor in the field of waste management.

The purpose of this passage is to __________.

• inform

• cause an emotional response

• persuade

• contradict a popular idea

Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Jenny does not like cake.

She does not like to bake it, ice it, or eat it.

What does the second sentence do?

• It states the cause of the first.

• It provides supporting details.

• It compares the three things Jenny does not like about cake.

• It draws a conclusion about Jenny.

Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Most people collect Star Wars toys for sentimental reasons.

Some people collect them strictly to make money.

What is the relationship between the two sentences?

• The second sentence repeats the idea of the first sentence.

• The first sentence is the cause, and the second sentence is the effect.

• The second sentence contrasts the first sentence.

• The first sentence states an idea, and the second sentence explains that idea.

Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Brad Taylor, our team's best player, is injured this season.

The team does not expect to make the playoffs.

How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?

• It analyzes the first statement.

• It contradicts the first statement.

• It gives an effect.

• It gives an example.

Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.

Spending time volunteering for charity is important to our company.

Our company offers its employees paid time off to volunteer.

How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?

• It contradicts the first statement.

• It reinforces the first statement.

• It offers a solution.

• It reveals the first statement.

Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

Many people have owned, or have heard of, traditional “piggy banks,” coin banks shaped like pigs. A logical theory about how this tradition started might be that because pigs often symbolize greed, the object is to “fatten” one’s piggy bank with as much money as possible.

However, while this idea makes sense, it is not the correct origin of the term. The genesis of the piggy bank is the old English word “pygg,” which was a common kind of clay hundreds of years ago in England. People used pots and jars made out of this red “pygg” clay for many different purposes in their homes. Sometimes they kept their money in one of the pots, and this was known as a pygg bank. Over the years, because “pygg” and “pig” sounded the same, glaziers began making novelty banks out of pottery in the shape of a pig as a kind of joke. These banks were given as gifts and exported to countries where people spoke other languages and where no one had ever heard of pygg clay. The tradition caught on all over the world, and today piggy banks come in all colors and are made of all kinds of materials, including plastic.

This passage is mainly about how __________.

• people in England made pottery centuries ago

• people in different countries save their money

• a common term originated in a surprising way

• an unusual custom got started