Don’t Believe Everything You Read. Reading Practice 3

Which sentence states the main idea of this passage?

• Many American houses have only showers because bathtubs are dangerous.

• America’s relationship with the bathtub has had many ups and downs.

• H. L. Mencken wrote a false history of the bathtub that still fools people today.

• H. L. Mencken was a well-known journalist, editor, and critic.

According to the passage, which event happened first?

• The Washington Post printed the bathtub history without checking the facts first.

• The United States entered World War I.

• Mencken published an article about the history of the bathtub.

• Mencken told the truth about the bathtub story.

Which of these resources would be most helpful for researching the history of the bathtub?

• a dictionary

• a book of world records

• TV’s History Channel

• the Internet

The passage says, “In many places, taking a bath was illegal unless a doctor ordered it.” The word illegal means—

• “against the law.”

• “not healthful.”

• “too expensive.”

• “very enjoyable.”

According to the passage, H. L. Mencken wrote the history of the bathtub to—

• embarrass his readers.

• clarify the facts.

• make people laugh.

• educate the public.

Mencken’s article about the bathtub is most like which of these?

• a published interview of a famous actor

• an essay on the need to reduce global warming

• an encyclopedia entry about the invention of the telephone

• a news story with a fake photo of Bigfoot

The title of this passage implies that—

• 𝖠 people shouldn’t have believed Mencken’s article.

• 𝖡 the facts in most newspaper articles are wrong.

• 𝖢 Internet Web sites are the best places to get the news.

• 𝖣 H. L. Mencken caused serious problems with his article.