Answers for Practice Test 1, Reasoning through Language Arts

Answers and Explanations

B. a center housing social enterprises. The column specifically states that the center houses 85 social enterprises. Choice (A) is totally wrong and can be instantly eliminated on first reading. The other answers have a ring of correctness because the column is about social enterprises, charities, and school leavers, but they have nothing to do with the center and, thus, are wrong.
C. innovative programs. The column states that the Learnxs Foundation supports innovative programs. All the other answers except for Choice (A) are mentioned or implied in the column; however, they aren’t correct answers to the question. You have to read carefully and double-check the facts. Just because something is mentioned or is familiar doesn’t mean it’s the right answer to the question.
distributing discarded materials to visual arts classes. The passage clearly spells out that Artsjunction’s function is to distribute discarded materials to visual arts classes.
B. provide training in word and numerical processing to employees and clients. The column is very specific about the purpose of the Microtron bus. It provided services to employees and clients of small businesses in word and numerical processing. The other answers sound like they could be right, but after rereading the column, you can see that they aren’t.

When you’re trying to answer these questions under time constraints, try to remember exactly what the passage said. If you only think you remember, go back as quickly as you can and skim the piece for key words. In this case, the key word is Microtron. It sometimes helps to read the question first before reading the passage.
D. as a business incubator. The passage very precisely spells out the mandate of the Training Renewal Foundation: to serve disadvantaged youth and displaced workers. Choices (A) and (B) may be worthy activities for any charity, but they aren’t stated as part of the mandate and, thus, are wrong as answers. Choice (C) is just wrong and is a play on another meaning of serves. You can immediately exclude this answer and have only three others to consider.
C. The employee must wear appropriate clothing. Employees must wear appropriate clothing to project a professional appearance and maintain safety standards. The other requirements — such as refraining from making phone calls, keeping the premises secure and being respectful — don’t relate to appearance.
A. Accept authority. Employees must accept the authority of supervisors, as is stated clearly in the passage. The other choices may be partially correct, but they are not the best answer.
D. Personal conduct and respect of work environment. Employees must conduct themselves professionally so that the business grows and improves.
B. by not inviting others in. To ensure safety and security, employees shouldn’t invite other people in. The promotion of dignity, interaction, and supervisors’ meetings don’t directly relate to ensuring safety and security.
D. You are fired. Repeated instances of noncompliance lead to dismissal. The other options aren’t backed up by the passage.
A. change I would of liked to I would like. The phrases would of, could of, and should of are never acceptable in standard English and, most of the time, should be changed to would have, could have, and should have. In this sentence, however, the correct form is I would like, the present tense.
C. delete the comma after washing machine. The comma after washing machine isn’t necessary.
B. add a comma between Wednesday and July 6th. A comma is necessary to separate the day from the month.
B. However. The logical transitional word to begin the sentence is However. You need to indicate contrast between the successful installation of the washing machine and the unsuccessful installation of the dryer.
D. no correction required. The options presented either make the sentence difficult to understand or introduce errors, so the correct answer is no correction required.
A. delete While. Beginning the sentence with While, a subordinating conjunction, creates a sentence fragment (an incomplete sentence). Deleting While will correct the error.
B. change their to there. These homonyms are confusing: Remember to use their when a possessive pronoun is needed and there when you refer to a place.
C. change its’ to its. The correct possessive pronoun is its. Remember, its’ is never correct, and it’s is the contraction of it is.
B. change the comma after inconvenienced to a period. Sentence 11 is a run-on sentence because it contains two main clauses joined by a comma. It needs to be separated into two sentences.
D. change recurring to incurring. In this sentence, the word recurring, which means occurring again, is the wrong word. In the context of the sentence, the word should mean experiencing something unpleasant or incurring.
B. Journey up the Hudson. To get to the Kaatskill Mountains, you need to journey up the Hudson. A dismembered branch, turning left at the Mississippi river, and fresh green aren’t locations that can better help you locate the mountains.
D. with magical hues and shapes. The wives use the magical hues and shapes of the mountains to forecast the weather. Other factors, such as the evening sky or gray vapors, aren’t good indicators. A barometer is an instrument to measure air pressure.
C. light smoke curling. To help you locate the village, you first need to look for light smoke curling from chimneys. You can’t see the other sign, shingle-roofs, until after you can see the smoke. Blue tints aren’t signs for locating villages.
Dutch colonists. The Dutch colonists were the newcomers who founded the village. Although there are others named, they’re the incorrect answer. Peter Stuyvesant established the government. The great Appalachian family refers to the mountains.
A. He has since died. Peter Stuyvesant, who had headed the government, had since died. The other answer choices describe Stuyvesant as an original settler, a soldier, and a governor, but they don’t refer to his death.
yellow bricks. Settlers brought yellow bricks from Holland to build the houses. The sources of the other materials, such as weather-cocks, windows, and shingle-roofs, are not mentioned, and are therefore unknown.
C. what flavor ice cream soda to order. William wants to make the decision before he enters the drugstore, so the young man serving him won’t have the opportunity to say, “Well, make up your mind what it’s goin’ to be, can’t you?” He clearly has been through this experience before and doesn’t want to repeat it.
Rudeness. William says he finds rudeness in any form “hard to bear.”
D. William spent all his money on ice cream sodas. Because William is penniless when he leaves the store, you can assume he spent all his money to pay for the two ice cream sodas. Although he orders a chocolate and strawberry ice cream soda, you can’t assume that chocolate is his favorite flavor, so Choice (A) isn’t the best answer. There is no evidence in the story that William is a friend of the server or that he plans to get a job there.
B. William’s reflection in the glass window of the drugstore. William, self-impressed young man that he is, finds his own reflection alluring. The evidence in the story supports none of the other choices.
B. self-impressed and smug. There are clues in the story that give you a clear picture of William’s character. After staring admiringly at his reflection in the store window, he looks at passers-by with “lofty and uncondescending amusement.” You learn that “From the heights, he seemed to bestow upon the world a mysterious derision.”
B. 4, 3, 5, 2, 1. The correct order of events is as follows: 4.William ponders an internal question (what flavor to choose!). 3. William decides on a chocolate and strawberry ice cream soda. 5. William approaches the soda-fountain. 2. William says, “Fill ’er up again.” 1. William lingers outside the drugstore, watching the people pass by.
D. you to listen to each customer’s assessment. The assessment belongs to each customer and requires a possessive form of customer: customer’s. The other answers are neither correct nor do they improve the sentence. Because customer is singular, you must insert the apostrophe before the s in customer.
A. when she explains the situation from her perspective. The meaning of this sentence is that the clerk should listen to the customer, so put the most important information first. The best way to start this sentence is with the when she explains the situation from her perspective clause.
C. change waving to waiving. Waving means to motion with the hand, while waive means to dismiss. It may be interesting to wave at a charge, but the proper meaning of the sentence is to dismiss (or not collect) the charge. These two words are homonyms (words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings). You are expected to understand most homonyms for this test.
times. The only place you can use a comma in this sentence is after the introductory phrase At other times.
exceptable. Exceptable may sound like a word, but it’s not. The correct word to use is acceptable. The more reading you do as you prepare for the test, the better your chances are for recognizing misspellings.
A. Whatever the problem, A gift for you: No correction is required.
B. revise to read the cart before the horse. If you live anywhere near Amish country, you know that the horse comes before the cart. Or you may have heard the idiomatic expression, “Don’t put the cart before the horse.” In either case, the proper correction is to reverse the order of horse and cart.
Its. Its is possessive (meaning that it shows that something belongs to it), whereas it’s stands for “it is.” Here, the sentence clearly means “it is.” Confusing these two words is a common error that’s usually tested in some way. Master the difference between its and it’s. It’s means “it is” and is often confused with the possessive form of other words that use the apostrophe.
C. on the recovery front and further. Farther always refers to distance. Further is a matter of degree. Here, you want degree, not distance. If you didn’t know the answer, this question is a good example of one that you could answer by intelligent guessing. Choice (A) isn’t correct because with isn’t the proper word in this case. Choice (B) doesn’t make sense in the context of the sentence. So now you just need to guess between Choices (C) and (D).
not. Commas used in moderation help sentences. Extra commas hurt sentences. In this sentence, the only comma used properly separates the introductory phrase More often than not from the rest of the sentence.
B. change refference to reference. The correct spelling is reference. Choice (A) introduces a new error, the wrong tense. Choice (C) uses the incorrect idiom are delighted by, which doesn’t fit the context of this sentence.
C. break the sentence into two after the word years, replacing the comma with a period, and capitalizing he. Choice (A) has the right idea but the wrong location; it would create a sentence fragment after the word both. Choice (B) introduces a new error, using the wrong tense under these circumstances. The past perfect is only required when comparing in the past to something in the more distant past. The capitals suggested in Choice (D) aren’t required.
B. change organizes to organized. This is a case of faulty parallelism. Every bullet is in the past tense except the last one. It should be in the same tense as the rest. The word programme is correctly spelled. This is a red herring, taking advantage of the differences between British and American English. In British English, programme is the preferred spelling, and the letter return address indicates that the author is from England. Despite that, both spellings are still considered acceptable in American English. The comma in Choice (C) is required, and the suggested change to proceedure in Choice (D) introduces a new error, so it’s wrong.
D. no change required. The original wording splits the verb by inserting always between the auxiliary verb and the participle. This isn’t always an error and, in this case, is fine. Choices (A) and (B) introduce the wrong tense into the sentence, and Choice (C) is no improvement.
A. change showed to shown. The sentence uses the wrong form of the participle. Choice (B) introduces a new spelling error, Choice (C) introduces a new tense error, and Choice (D) is wrong because there’s an error in the sentence.
B. replace the semicolon with a comma. The semicolon creates a division between the two independent clauses that isn’t required. Choice (A) is the incorrect use of the future perfect tense. The future perfect tense indicates action that will have been completed at some point in the future: By next year, you will have passed all the GED tests. Choice (C) introduces a tense error, while Choice (D) is simply wrong.
A. move the apostrophe from Jaxons’ to Jaxon’s. The sentence refers to the skills Mr. Jaxon possesses. Because his name doesn’t end in s, the apostrophe needs to come before the s. The change in Choice (B) isn’t required. Choice (C) introduces a new error, the misuse of the words personal and personnel. Because the letter is discussing Mr. Jaxon’s skills, they are personal skills. Personnel refers to staff. If the sentence were dealing only with his abilities with staff, such a use may be correct. Choice (D) is wrong because changes are required.
grimly ordinary. The description states that it was like any other winter school day in Chicago — grimly ordinary.
D. His mother was sick. Louie was living with his mother, who was very ill and confined to bed. Other answers describing Louie’s breakfast, his books, and his complexion aren’t good descriptions of the focus of his home life.
A. the men who shoot the pigeons. The men who were hunting pigeons (game) for food are described as dark little guys in fluttering white shirts. The phrase doesn’t describe boys walking to school (the narrator doesn’t mention other boys) or the pigeons or the police.
D. It reinforces the image of great hardship, that people had to hunt pigeons for food in the cities. The whole scene is grim, but only in that term do you realize the time setting is the Great Depression. That then reinforces the grimness of the scene. Although the men may be depressed and the weather bad, those things have nothing to do with the question. And although Choice (B) may be true, it doesn’t answer the question, either.
Depression. During the Great Depression (from 1929 to the early 1930s), food was scarce, and some people were reduced to shooting pigeons for food.
C. It had nothing to do with him. What Louie saw had nothing to do with him, and he didn’t want to get involved. Other possible answers — that he was hurrying to school, his mother was sick, or he was friends with the guys — don’t relate to why Louie wouldn’t tell the police.
D. a camera. The batteries are installed in a camera. Other answer choices, such as electronics or a children’s toy, have no meaning in this excerpt. Point-and-shoot, while another term for a camera, isn’t the best answer, because not all cameras are point-and-shoot.
B. big point-and-shoots. The easiest model in which to replace batteries is the point-and-shoot camera. The other answer choices — compact models, screw bottoms, and different types of covers — aren’t the best answers to the question.
D. The battery cover may be lost. Avoid all the locations mentioned so you don’t lose your battery cover if you drop it. Sewer grates and tall grass are places where the cover could easily be lost. The rest of the answer choices refer to issues other than losing battery covers.
D. Find a diagram. To ensure that the batteries are correctly oriented, you must find the diagram and use it. Other choices, such as using four AAs or a single lithium or emptying the compartment, don’t answer the question.
B. the battery icon. You must check the battery icon to see whether the batteries are low. According to the passage, the diagram, battery compartment and lithium battery aren’t correct answers.

Sample Extended Response

The following sample essay would receive solid marks. It isn’t perfect, but as the GED Testing Service tells you, you’re not expected to write the perfect essay. You’re expected to write a good, first-draft-quality response. When you prepare your essay, consider using a schedule similar to this: 10 minutes to read and analyze the source passages; 10 minutes to put together the quotes you intend to use to back your argument, 10 minutes to prepare your rough draft, and the remaining 15 minutes to write your actual essay, proofread it, and make any final adjustments.
Compare the following sample to the response you wrote, and check out Chapter 7 for the scoring criteria and what evaluators look for in a response.
Both articles admit that traffic in the city is terrible, but one article argues that cars should be banned while the other says that cars are necessary. Both sides raise valid points, but the article in favor of banning cars presents a stronger argument because it has more specific examples and more convincing evidence.
The pro automobile banning article is very well organized, and it analyzes the issue very clearly point by point. It begins by addressing health issues, which are very important to every American. Who isn’t concerned about the pollutants in the air that we breathe? The main point about traffic congestion causing unhealthy exhaust emissions is backed up by concrete evidence. The specific toxins (nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and ozone) are listed, and these details strengthen the argument. The writer also uses statistics, such as the increasing number of cars on the roads (more than 2 billion by 2035!) and the increase in asthma victims to add persuasive scientific evidence to the article. On the other hand, the writer of the article against the banning of cars brushes off the health hazards of increased automobiles on the city roads. This article says that emissions are already down due to advancements in technology, and the goal for the future is to reduce emission completely. Right now, everyone in the city center is breathing in toxic fumes. I am far more convinced by the first article that cars cause unhealthy conditions.
Both articles also address the alternative to cars—public transportation. While Article 2 does offer the opinion that buses and trains can be uncomfortable and crowded, this seems like a very broad, general statement rather than a fact. Many cities have new or refurbished trains and buses, and all cities have clean-up crews at the end of the day. Article 2 also mentions “almost every public transit system cannot generate sufficient income to cover the costs of operating.” While that is most likely true, if fewer people drove their cars into the city and took public transport, the increased ridership would boost profits. Article 1 makes an important point about public transit that Article 2 never addresses: the efficient use of travel time. Public transit riders can use their commuting time to work, to read, to socialize, or just to rest. This can make them more productive in their jobs, which will boost the economy.
Finally, Article 1 discusses a very important issue that Article 2 never even considers: the space used for parking and storing vehicles in the city. Most urban centers have parking space problems. One solution is to construct multi-level parking garages. Not only are these usually very unattractive, but they also use space that could be put to better use for gardens or parks. Article 1 points out that quality of life is so important in modern times. As Article 1 recognizes, everyone needs to spend some down time, smelling the flowers and getting energized by beauty. A park is far more desirable place to relax than a concrete bunker.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that everyone needs a car to get around. Article 2 points out that “owing a car is a cultural symbol of status and personal freedom.” While this may be true, it is a weak argument. How can having a status symbol be reason enough to jeopardize the health and quality of life of so many city dwellers? The truth is that most people who live in cities rely on public transit. It is the people who drive into the city centers from the suburbs who create the dangerous emissions, noise, and traffic jams. One solution might be for cities to set up parking lots outside the city and then provide public transit into the center. A ban on cars from the city centers, as Article 1 convincingly argues, will be beneficial to all by reducing reliance on fossil fuels, cleaning up the air, and improving the quality of life in the city centers.

Answers for Practice Test 1, Reasoning through Language Arts

Answers and Explanations

Sample Extended Response

Answer Key