Practice Worksheet - 3

Read each passage carefully and then answer the questions about it. For each question, decide on the basis of the passage which one of the choices best answers the question.

Passage 1

The following passage is adapted from a work of narrative fiction.

    The morning my father left for the Alaskan gold fields, the kitchen smelled of burnt oatmeal and kerosene. I stood by the stove, watching Mama scrape the pot with more force than necessary, her jaw set in that way (5) that meant she had nothing left to say. Papa had already said his piece the night before: the claim was legitimate, the venture sound, and we would want for nothing once he struck pay dirt. He had unfolded a creased map across the table, tracing routes (10) and rivers with a blunt fingernail, his voice animated in a way I had not heard since before the mill closed.     Now he stood in the doorway with his canvas pack, looking smaller somehow than he had at the table. “You’ll mind (15) your mother, Clara,” he said, not quite meeting my eyes. I nodded, though what I wanted was to ask him why the promise of gold in some frozen creek mattered more than the certainty of us here. But I was (20) twelve, and girls did not ask such questions.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. describe the hardships faced by mining families in Alaska
2. portray a moment of family separation and its emotional undercurrents
3. explain the economic conditions that led to the Alaskan gold rush
4. criticize a father’s decision to abandon his family
5. celebrate the adventurous spirit of American pioneers

2. As used in line 3, the word “set” most nearly means

1. placed
2. hardened
3. established
4. arranged
5. declined

3. The detail about burnt oatmeal in line 2 primarily serves to

1. establish the time of day when the scene occurs
2. demonstrate the mother’s lack of cooking skill
3. suggest the household’s distracted and tense atmosphere
4. show that the family is too poor to afford proper food
5. indicate that the father is leaving without eating breakfast

4. The narrator’s description of her father’s voice as “animated” in lines 10-11 suggests that he

1. had been depressed since losing his job at the mill
2. always spoke enthusiastically about maps and geography
3. was trying to convince his family to move to Alaska
4. felt genuine excitement about the prospecting opportunity
5. was performing cheerfulness to mask his true anxiety

5. The phrase “looking smaller somehow” in line 14 most likely reflects

1. the father’s actual physical size compared to other men
2. Clara’s perception that her father’s confidence has diminished
3. the heavy weight of the canvas pack on the father’s shoulders
4. the narrow dimensions of the kitchen doorway
5. Clara’s growing maturity and increased height

6. Clara does not ask her father why he is leaving primarily because

1. she already knows the answer from his explanation the night before
2. her mother has forbidden her to speak to her father
3. she believes children, especially girls, should not challenge adult decisions
4. she is afraid her father will become angry with her
5. she secretly supports his decision to search for gold

7. The overall tone of the passage can best be described as

1. bitterly resentful
2. cautiously optimistic
3. quietly observant and melancholy
4. sarcastically critical
5. sentimentally nostalgic

Passage 2

The following passage is adapted from an article on urban ecology.

    When ecologists first began studying cities in the mid-twentieth century, they typically viewed urban environments as ecological deserts-places where human development had effectively eliminated natural processes. This perspective has undergone a dramatic revision. Contemporary (5) urban ecology recognizes cities not as voids in the landscape but as complex ecosystems in their own right, shaped by intricate interactions between biological and social forces.     Consider the peregrine falcon, a raptor that historically nested on cliff faces (10) in remote wilderness areas. By the 1960s, DDT contamination had driven the species to the brink of extinction in the eastern United States. Following the pesticide’s ban and intensive recovery efforts, peregrines began colonizing cities, where (15) skyscrapers provided synthetic cliffs and abundant pigeons offered reliable prey. Today, peregrine populations thrive in urban centers from Boston to Los Angeles, achieving densities that exceed those found in many rural habitats.     This pattern of (20) adaptation extends beyond charismatic predators. Studies have documented evolutionary changes in urban organisms occurring at remarkable speeds-white clover plants developing reduced cyanide production in response to warmer city microclimates, songbirds altering their vocalizations (25) to cut through traffic noise. Cities function as laboratories of rapid evolution, places where selection pressures differ markedly from those in surrounding landscapes.

8. The main idea of the passage is that

1. peregrine falcons have recovered from near-extinction due to pesticide bans
2. cities should be understood as functioning ecosystems rather than ecological wastelands
3. urban environments are more ecologically diverse than wilderness areas
4. human development has had mostly negative effects on wildlife populations
5. ecologists in the mid-twentieth century lacked proper research methods

9. According to the passage, mid-twentieth-century ecologists generally believed that cities were

1. complex ecosystems shaped by biological and social forces
2. places where natural ecological processes had been largely destroyed
3. ideal habitats for studying rapid evolutionary change
4. more densely populated with wildlife than rural areas
5. synthetic environments that could replace natural wilderness

10. As used in line 18, the word “exceed” most nearly means

1. surpass
2. prevent
3. escape
4. require
5. equal

11. The passage indicates that peregrine falcons were able to colonize cities because

1. DDT contamination was less severe in urban areas than in wilderness regions
2. ecologists introduced captive-bred falcons into city environments
3. tall buildings and plentiful food sources mimicked their natural habitat requirements
4. cities provided warmer microclimates than rural cliff areas
5. urban pigeon populations were genetically similar to their traditional prey

12. The author mentions white clover and songbirds in lines 22-25 in order to

1. illustrate that evolutionary adaptation to urban environments occurs across diverse species
2. argue that cities are more ecologically valuable than wilderness areas
3. demonstrate that plants evolve more rapidly than animals
4. prove that traffic noise is the primary selection pressure in cities
5. contrast organisms that have adapted successfully with those that have failed

13. The passage suggests that evolutionary changes in urban organisms occur

1. only in species that were previously endangered
2. more rapidly than such changes typically occur in non-urban environments
3. exclusively in large cities like Boston and Los Angeles
4. primarily as a result of pesticide contamination
5. at rates identical to those observed in surrounding rural landscapes

14. The author’s attitude toward contemporary urban ecology can best be described as

1. skeptical of its scientific rigor
2. approving of its revised perspective
3. concerned about its policy implications
4. indifferent to its theoretical contributions
5. critical of its focus on charismatic species

Passage 3

The following is excerpted from Chief Seattle’s 1854 speech, delivered in response to the U.S. government’s offer to buy tribal lands in the Pacific Northwest.

    How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them? (5) Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses (10) through the trees carries the memories of the red man.     We know that the white man does not understand our ways. One portion of land is the same to him as the next, for he is a stranger who comes in the night and takes (15) from the land whatever he needs. The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on. He leaves his father’s graves behind, and he does not care. He kidnaps the earth from his children, (20) and he does not care. His appetite will devour the earth and leave behind only a desert.

15. The primary rhetorical purpose of the opening questions in lines 1-4 is to

1. request factual information about the government’s purchasing procedures
2. emphasize the fundamental incompatibility between two worldviews
3. suggest that the land is too valuable to be sold at any price
4. demonstrate Chief Seattle’s confusion about economic systems
5. propose alternative methods for transferring land ownership

16. As used in line 7, the word “holy” most nearly means

1. religious
2. perfect
3. sacred
4. clean
5. powerful

17. According to the passage, the white man’s relationship to the land differs from that of Chief Seattle’s people in that the white man

1. understands the spiritual significance of natural features
2. views the earth as an adversary to be subdued rather than a relation to be honored
3. remains in one location for many generations
4. carefully preserves resources for future children
5. treats all portions of land as uniquely sacred

18. The statement that “the sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man” in lines 8-10 suggests that

1. trees contain a biological record of human history
2. the speaker’s people have lived in the region for many generations
3. sap was an important resource in the tribe’s economy
4. the tribe’s cultural identity is inseparably connected to the natural world
5. memories can be physically transferred through natural substances

19. The image of the white man as “a stranger who comes in the night” in lines 13-14 conveys a sense of

1. mysterious arrival and illegitimate taking
2. peaceful negotiation and mutual understanding
3. gradual integration into the existing community
4. technological superiority and inevitable progress
5. fearful retreat and hasty departure

20. The overall tone of the passage can best be described as

1. objectively analytical
2. bitterly vengeful
3. mournfully accusatory
4. cautiously hopeful
5. enthusiastically welcoming

■ ■ ■   STOP   ■ ■ ■

IF YOU FINISH BEFORE TIME IS CALLED, YOU MAY CHECK YOUR WORK ON THIS SECTION ONLY. DO NOT TURN TO ANY OTHER SECTION OF THE TEST.

Answer Key

1. Ans: (B) – portray a moment of family separation and its emotional undercurrents
Explanation: This is a Main Idea/Author’s Purpose question. The passage focuses on the morning of the father’s departure and reveals the unspoken feelings of each family member through details like the burnt oatmeal, the mother’s set jaw, and Clara’s unasked question (lines 1-20). Choice (A) is too broad; the passage does not describe hardships beyond this single family. Choice (C) is incorrect because the passage mentions economic conditions only briefly as background, not as the primary focus.

2. Ans: (C) – hardened
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 3, the mother’s jaw is described as “set in that way that meant she had nothing left to say,” indicating a fixed, tense, hardened expression of resolve or suppressed emotion. Choice (A) “placed” uses a common meaning of “set” but does not fit the context of a facial expression. Choice (C) “established” is another common meaning but does not capture the physical tension described.

3. Ans: (C) – suggest the household’s distracted and tense atmosphere
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. The burnt oatmeal and Mama scraping the pot “with more force than necessary” (lines 2-3) create a sense of emotional turmoil and distraction on this difficult morning. Choice (B) is incorrect because the detail suggests distraction, not incompetence. Choice (D) is wrong because poverty is not suggested; the burning results from inattention, not lack of resources.

4. Ans: (D) – felt genuine excitement about the prospecting opportunity
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The father’s “animated” voice when discussing the gold claim contrasts with the period “since before the mill closed” (lines 10-11), suggesting his enthusiasm is real and represents renewed hope. Choice (A) is a true statement but reverses the logic; his animation shows he is no longer as depressed. Choice (E) contradicts the passage; nothing suggests his enthusiasm is false or performed.

5. Ans: (B) – Clara’s perception that her father’s confidence has diminished
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The word “somehow” and the contrast with his animated demeanor at the table (lines 14-15) suggest a subjective perception that the father’s assurance has wavered. Choice (A) is incorrect because “somehow” indicates a perceptual or emotional quality, not literal physical size. Choice (D) uses a detail from the passage (doorway) but distorts its relevance to this description.

6. Ans: (C) – she believes children, especially girls, should not challenge adult decisions
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Clara explicitly states, “I was twelve, and girls did not ask such questions” (lines 19-20), indicating social expectations constrained her. Choice (A) is incorrect because knowing the practical reason does not explain why she doesn’t ask her emotional question about priorities. Choice (B) is not supported; there is no mention of any such prohibition from the mother.

7. Ans: (C) – quietly observant and melancholy
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. Clara narrates with careful attention to detail (burnt oatmeal, the mother’s jaw, the father’s appearance) and restrained sadness pervades the scene (lines 1-20). Choice (A) is too strong; Clara feels sadness but does not express bitter resentment. Choice (B) is incorrect because there is no optimism in the passage; the mother’s silence and Clara’s unasked question convey resignation, not hope.

8. Ans: (B) – cities should be understood as functioning ecosystems rather than ecological wastelands
Explanation: This is a Main Idea question. The passage traces the shift from viewing cities as “ecological deserts” to recognizing them as “complex ecosystems” (lines 1-6) and provides examples supporting this revised understanding. Choice (A) is too narrow; peregrine falcons are an example, not the main idea. Choice (C) contradicts the passage, which does not claim cities are more diverse than wilderness, only that they are ecosystems too.

9. Ans: (B) – places where natural ecological processes had been largely destroyed
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states that early ecologists “viewed urban environments as ecological deserts-places where human development had effectively eliminated natural processes” (lines 2-4). Choice (A) reverses the chronology; this describes the contemporary view, not the mid-twentieth-century perspective. Choice (C) is incorrect because viewing cities as evolutionary laboratories is a recent development, not a mid-century belief.

10. Ans: (A) – surpass
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. The passage states that urban peregrine populations “exceed those found in many rural habitats” (line 18), meaning they are greater than or surpass rural densities. Choice (C) “escape” uses a word that sounds similar but has an entirely different meaning. Choice (E) “equal” is the opposite of what the passage conveys; populations exceed, not merely match, rural levels.

11. Ans: (C) – tall buildings and plentiful food sources mimicked their natural habitat requirements
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage explains that “skyscrapers provided synthetic cliffs and abundant pigeons offered reliable prey” (lines 14-16), allowing falcons to meet their nesting and feeding needs. Choice (A) contradicts the passage; DDT contamination nearly caused extinction, and its ban (not lower urban contamination) enabled recovery. Choice (B) is not stated; the passage mentions recovery efforts but does not specify urban introduction programs.

12. Ans: (A) – illustrate that evolutionary adaptation to urban environments occurs across diverse species
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. After discussing peregrines, the passage states the “pattern of adaptation extends beyond charismatic predators” and cites plants and songbirds as examples (lines 19-25). Choice (C) is incorrect; the passage presents both examples equally without comparing their evolutionary rates. Choice (D) is too narrow; traffic noise is mentioned only for songbirds, not as a general claim about selection pressures.

13. Ans: (B) – more rapidly than such changes typically occur in non-urban environments
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage describes changes “occurring at remarkable speeds” and calls cities “laboratories of rapid evolution” (lines 21-26), implying faster rates than usual. Choice (A) is incorrect; the white clover and songbirds mentioned were not previously endangered. Choice (E) contradicts the passage by suggesting identical rates when the text emphasizes rapid, distinctive urban evolution.

14. Ans: (B) – approving of its revised perspective
Explanation: This is a Tone/Author’s Purpose question. The author presents contemporary urban ecology positively, describing its recognition of cities as “complex ecosystems” and providing supporting examples without criticism (lines 4-26). Choice (A) is incorrect; the author shows no skepticism but rather presents the research approvingly. Choice (E) is wrong because calling peregrines “charismatic” (line 19) is descriptive, not critical, and the passage emphasizes diversity beyond such species.

15. Ans: (B) – emphasize the fundamental incompatibility between two worldviews
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose question. The rhetorical questions “How can you buy or sell the sky” and “The idea is strange to us” (lines 1-3) highlight the conceptual gulf between commodifying land and viewing it as sacred. Choice (A) is incorrect because these are rhetorical questions meant to challenge, not to request information. Choice (D) misreads tone; Chief Seattle is not confused but rather pointedly questioning the premise of the offer.

16. Ans: (C) – sacred
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 7, “holy” appears in a sentence describing natural features as existing “in the memory and experience of my people,” paralleling “sacred” from line 5. Choice (A) “religious” is related but too narrow; “sacred” better captures the spiritual reverence without institutional connotations. Choice (B) “perfect” is unrelated to the spiritual meaning conveyed in context.

17. Ans: (B) – views the earth as an adversary to be subdued rather than a relation to be honored
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states, “The earth is not his brother, but his enemy, and when he has conquered it, he moves on” (lines 15-17), contrasting with the speaker’s reverent relationship. Choice (A) reverses what the passage says; the white man “does not understand our ways” (line 12). Choice (D) contradicts lines 18-19, which state he “kidnaps the earth from his children, and he does not care.”

18. Ans: (D) – the tribe’s cultural identity is inseparably connected to the natural world
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The metaphor of sap carrying memories (lines 8-10) suggests a deep, organic unity between the people and their environment, not a literal biological record. Choice (A) takes the metaphor too literally. Choice (E) also misreads the figurative language as claiming actual physical transfer of memories rather than expressing spiritual connection.

19. Ans: (A) – mysterious arrival and illegitimate taking
Explanation: This is a Tone/Inference question. The image of coming “in the night” and taking “whatever he needs” (lines 13-15) evokes stealth and unauthorized appropriation. Choice (B) contradicts the passage entirely; the imagery suggests conflict, not peaceful negotiation. Choice (D) is not supported; technological superiority is not mentioned in this portion of the passage.

20. Ans: (C) – mournfully accusatory
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. Chief Seattle expresses sorrow over the different worldviews while also criticizing the white man’s treatment of land and future generations (lines 12-20), combining grief with pointed blame. Choice (A) is incorrect because the passage is deeply emotional and value-laden, not objective. Choice (B) is too extreme; while accusatory, the tone is mournful rather than vengeful.