Understanding Informational Passages

Read these sentence fragments from paragraph 3.

Takes comfort in knowing we’re on the best route. According to the navigation software, anyway.

The author is implying that —

• travelers may experience something from a drive that computers can’t predict

• navigation software has become more reliable

• driving in unfamiliar places should make people uncomfortable

• uncertainty leads to navigational difficulties

The author’s main purpose for writing this article is to —

• describe the problems that occur when drivers ignore printed maps in favor of GPS

• argue that navigating with printed maps produces a better road-trip experience than using GPS

• show that GPS and printed maps complement each other

• explain why drivers have so willingly adopted GPS over printed maps

Why does the author include the quotation from Eric Riback in paragraph 7?

• To support his own viewpoint that maps enhance travel

• To show that map publishers are engaged in creative activities

• To establish that a community of map enthusiasts still exists

• To explain how maps can act as mementos

Read this quotation from paragraph 4.

I’m not even going to get into how, in choosing the single most efficient route to your desired destination, GPS excludes other routes and destinations you might not realize you desire to see, and removes serendipity—which as any undergrad with a Penguin Classics edition of On the Road knows, is the very oxygen that makes a road trip come alive.

In this statement, the author shows that he thinks —

• planning a trip in exact detail takes too much time and effort

• young people are more adventurous than older, more experienced travelers

• it’s worthwhile to risk wasting time during a trip in the hopes of being surprised

• less well-known tourist attractions can be as thrilling as the popular ones

On the advantages of using paper maps, the author’s wife is mostly —

• curious

• skeptical

• neutral

• flustered

Which detail about printed maps is most important to the author’s argument?

• They are available in fewer places today than they once were.

• They encourage a driver and a navigator to work together.

• They are sometimes difficult to read.

• They can be framed as art.

Why does the author begin the selection with the words “Call me a fossil”?

• To indicate how people often address him

• To acknowledge that he is older than most of his readers

• To show he understands that his views are considered outdated

• To establish that he is used to his beliefs being questioned