Extra Practice 

The following questions provide an opportunity to practice the concepts and strategic thinking covered in this chapter. While many of the questions pertain to Connections and Vocab-in-Context questions, some touch on other concepts tested on the Reading Test to ensure that your practice is test-like, with a variety of question types per passage.

    1. Questions 1-10 are based on the following passage.

    2. The following passage is adapted from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.

      Phileas Fogg, having shut the door of his house at half-past eleven, and having put his right foot before his left five hundred and seventy-five times, and his left foot before his right five hundred and seventy-six times, reached the Reform Club. He repaired at once to the dining-room and took his place at the habitual table, the cover of which had already been laid for him. A flunkey handed him an uncut Times, which he proceeded to cut with a skill which betrayed familiarity with this deli- cate operation. The perusal of this paper absorbed Phileas Fogg until a quarter before four, whilst the Standard, his next task, occupied him till the dinner hour. Dinner passed as breakfast had done, and Mr. Fogg re-appeared in the reading-room and sat down to the Pall Mall1 at twenty minutes before six. Half an hour later several members of the Reform came in and drew up to the fireplace. They were Mr. Fogg’s usual partners at whist:2 Andrew Stuart, an engineer; John Sullivan and Samuel Fallentin, bankers; Thomas Flanagan, a brewer; and Gauthier Ralph, one of the Directors of the Bank of England. “Well, Ralph,” said Thomas Flanagan, “what about that robbery?”     “Oh,” replied Stuart, “the Bank will lose the money.” “On the contrary,” broke in Ralph, “I hope we may put our hands on the robber. Skillful detectives have been sent to all the principal ports of America and the Continent, and he’ll be a clever fellow if he slips through their fingers.” “But have you got the robber’s description?” asked Stuart. “In the first place, he is no robber at all,” returned Ralph, positively. “What! a fellow who makes off with fifty-five thousand pounds, no robber?” “No.” “Perhaps he’s a manufacturer, then.”     “The Daily Telegraph says that he is a gentle- man.” It was Phileas Fogg, whose head now emerged from behind his newspapers, who made this remark. A package of banknotes, to the value of fifty-five thousand pounds, had been taken from the principal cashier’s table, that functionary being at the moment engaged in registering the receipt of three shillings and sixpence. Let it be observed that the Bank of England reposes a touching confidence in the honesty of the public. There are neither guards nor gratings to protect its treasures; gold, silver, banknotes are freely exposed, at the mercy of the first comer. A keen observer of English customs relates that, being in one of the rooms of the Bank one day, he had the curiosity to examine a gold ingot weighing some seven or eight pounds. He took it up, scrutinised it, passed it to his neighbour, he to the next man, and so on until the ingot, going from hand to hand, was transferred to the end of a dark entry; nor did it return to its place for half an hour. Meanwhile, the cashier had not so much as raised his head. But in the present instance things had not gone so smoothly. The package of notes not being found when five o’clock sounded from the ponderous clock in the “drawing office,” the amount was passed to the account of profit and loss. There were real grounds for supposing, as the Daily Telegraph said, that the thief did not belong to a professional band. On the day of the robbery a well-dressed gentleman of polished manners, and with a well-to-do air, had been observed going to and fro in the paying room where the crime was committed. A description of him was easily procured and sent to the detectives; and some hopeful spirits, of whom Ralph was one, did not despair of his apprehension. The papers and clubs were full of the affair, and everywhere people were discussing the probabilities of a successful pursuit; and the Reform Club was especially agitated, several of its members being Bank officials.     Ralph would not concede that the work of the detectives was likely to be in vain, for he thought that the prize offered would greatly stimulate their zeal and activity. But Stuart was far from sharing this confidence; and, as they placed themselves at the whist-table, they continued to argue the matter. “I maintain,” said Stuart, “that the chances are in favour of the thief, who must be a shrewd fellow.” “Well, but where can he fly to?” asked Ralph. “No country is safe for him.”     “Pshaw!” “Where could he go, then?” “Oh, I don’t know that. The world is big enough.” “It was once,” said Phileas Fogg, in a low tone.
      1 Pall Mall: an evening newspaper (the Pall Mall Gazette) founded in London in 1865 2 whist: a trick-taking card game; modern derivatives include hearts and spades

    3. As used in line 6, “repaired” most nearly means

      1. fixed.
      2. returned.
      3. stormed.
      4. proceeded.

    4. The passage suggests that Phileas Fogg is a man who

      1. focuses on cultural activities.
      2. lives beyond his means.
      3. enjoys routine.
      4. keeps to himself.

    5. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

      1. Lines 5-8 (“He repaired . . . for him”)
      2. Lines 8-11 (“A flunkey . . . delicate operation”)
      3. Lines 14-16 (“Dinner passed . . . before six”)
      4. Lines 28-31 (“Skillful detectives . . . their fingers”)

    6. The passage suggests that Fogg

      1. keeps abreast of current events.
      2. is a political reformer.
      3. has strong opinions about crime.
      4. makes his living as a banker.

    7. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

      1. Lines 8-11 (“A flunkey . . . delicate operation”)
      2. Lines 17-18 (“Half an hour . . . the fireplace”)
      3. Lines 28-31 (“Skillful detectives . . . their fingers”)
      4. Lines 42-44 (“It was . . . this remark”)

    8. According to the passage, which statement about the Bank of England is true?

      1. The public has faith in the integrity of the Bank.
      2. The Bank has taken few precautions to guard against theft.
      3. The Bank has a history of money being stolen.
      4. The Bank has carefully managed public relations.

    9. As used in line 46, “functionary” most nearly means

      1. official.
      2. money.
      3. servant.
      4. criminal.

    10. The passage suggests that the thief was not part of a professional crime ring because

      1. the suspect acted alone.
      2. the Bank had never been burglarized before.
      3. the suspect was described as a gentleman.
      4. the Bank carefully screened the customers.

    11. The purpose of line 93 (“‘It was once,’ … a low tone”) is to

      1. create an ominous atmosphere at the table.
      2. foreshadow Fogg’s ideas about the world.
      3. illustrate Fogg’s proper demeanor and social skills.
      4. introduce the conflict of the plot.

    12. What is the primary purpose of the passage?

      1. To illustrate the problems with theft at the Bank of England
      2. To examine the lives of wealthy men in England
      3. To introduce Phileas Fogg and his social circle at the Reform Club
      4. To parody the social customs of the upper class

    1. Questions 11-21 are based on the following passages.

    2. Passage 1 discusses possible uses of video games in designing educational materials. Passage 2 explores how elements of video games can be used in combating deteriorating cognition in older adults.

      Passage 1

      Many teenagers have heard from their parents that playing too many video games can negatively affect their learning and socialization. Studies performed in the 1990s supported this claim. Scientists evaluated the content of popular video games and the amount of time children and teenagers were allowed to spend playing them. They eventually connected video games to anger issues, obesity, and addiction. Studies showed that violent video games played for long periods of time inadvertently mimic a the same type of repetition used by teachers to reinforce subject matter. The method of advancement in many violent video games involves winning a contest of some kind. This is also an approach used in the classroom and other settings familiar to children and teenagers. This method makes the content of the video games, including overall aggressive themes, easy to absorb. Until recently, the only positive effect of playing video games seemed to be an improvement in manual dexterity and computer literacy. These important upsides didn’t seem to outweigh the negatives. A 2013 study by the National Academy of Sciences shows that the playing of fast-paced video games can actually improve performance in many areas, such as attention span, spatial navigation, cognition, reasoning, and memory. Researchers tested small pools of gamers and found that those who had a history of playing action-packed video games were better at tasks such as pattern discrimination. They also found that the gamers excelled at conceptualizing 3-D objects. This new information could change the form that educational materials take. Content developers hope that the new materials may inspire interest in the fields of engineering, math, and technology. Educators can transform this data into classroom experiences that will not only cater to the current interests of students, but also use old patterns of teaching in a new and more modern way.

      Passage 2

      As adults age, certain brain functions deteriorate. Two of these important functions are cognition and memory. This kind of decline can lead to an associated loss of well-being. The number of adults affected by Alzheimer’s disease or dementia is also on the rise. Re- searchers are racing to find ways for people to maintain brain health while aging. A recent study examined the effects of non-action video-game training on people experiencing cognitive decline. The study worked with small sample sizes of aging participants. Researchers found that that the use of video games can allow the adult brain to maintain some plasticity. Test subjects trained their memories with games that featured patterned blocks, jigsaw puzzles, facial recognition, and other iterations requiring the recall of patterns. Test subjects who completed as few as twenty training sessions with these video games showed an increase in attention span, alertness, and visual memory. They also showed a decrease in distraction. These results are encouraging, as they suggest that there may be ways to stave off mental decline and to help the elderly maintain functions needed for safe driving and other activities of daily living. More tests need to be done in order to understand the full potential of video games in the anti-aging mar- ket. There are several companies currently capitalizing on the success of these studies, and increasingly more games that promise increased cognitive function are sure to find their way to retailers soon.

    3. The central idea of Passage 1 is primarily concerned with

      1. the effects of video games on teenagers who play popular violent video games.
      2. outdated methods used by teachers and content developers to interest students in science and engineering.
      3. how research about the effects of video games on gamers is being used to develop new teaching methods.
      4. how the impact that video games have had on children and teenagers has changed over the past few decades.

    4. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

      1. Lines 4-7 (“Scientists evaluated . . . them”)
      2. Lines 15-17 (“This method . . . absorb”)
      3. Lines 18-20 (“Until recently . . . literacy”)
      4. Lines 34-38 (“Educators . . . modern way”)

    5. Based on the information in the passage, studies performed in the 1990s support the claim that

      1. excessive video game playing can have a negative effect on teenagers.
      2. children who play video games are more likely to be interested in math and science.
      3. video games can improve performance in many areas related to success in education.
      4. teenagers who spend too much time playing violent video games become violent criminals.

    6. As used in line 10, “inadvertently” most nearly means

      1. hastily.
      2. impulsively.
      3. unintentionally.
      4. imprudently.

    7. According to the information presented in Passage 1, the content of video games is easily absorbed by teenagers because

      1. games are played for many hours a day on a daily basis.
      2. the games utilize methods used in the classroom to encourage retention.
      3. playing video games improves memory and increases cognitive functions.
      4. teenagers are predisposed to absorb material to which they are repeatedly exposed.

    8. Based on the information in Passage 2, the reader can infer that

      1. elderly people who are able to ward off or reverse dementia may be able to live longer independently.
      2. video games could completely cure dementia and other age-related cognitive problems.
      3. playing board games for extended periods of time could have the same effect as playing video games.
      4. too much time spent playing video games would likely have a negative effect on cognition in aging populations.

    9. Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?

      1. Lines 42-43 (“The number of . . . rise”)
      2. Lines 45-47 (“A recent study . . . decline”)
      3. Lines 58-61 (“These results . . . living”)
      4. Lines 62-64 (“More tests . . . market”)

    10. As used in line 39, “deteriorate” most nearly means

      1. adapt.
      2. restrict.
      3. transform.
      4. diminish.

    11. The author of Passage 2 supports the central claim of the passage in paragraph 2 by

      1. explaining the results of preliminary research involving the elderly and video games.
      2. describing the physiological causes of memory loss and declining cognitive functions.
      3. listing ways that the elderly can reduce the cognitive effects of aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
      4. giving details about the research methods used to study dementia in elderly populations.

    12. The purpose of Passage 2 is to

      1. describe the potential of video games to help combat the deterioration of brain function in aging populations.
      2. explain how companies are reaching out to the elderly to increase video game markets.
      3. encourage the reader to play video games as a way to increase memory and attention span.
      4. support research that will increase the quality of life of people as they age and lose brain function.

    13. Which generalization about video games does the evidence presented in both passages support?

      1. People who have trouble with memory loss and are easily distracted should avoid video games.
      2. Initial research conducted in the 1990s failed to uncover some of the benefits of playing video games.
      3. Video games could be part of a comprehensive approach to helping people cope with the effects of aging.
      4. Researchers in a diverse range of fields are looking to video games for solutions to problems.