Reading Passage for HSPT - 1

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 telegram arrived on a Thursday, slipped beneath the door of our flat while Mother was at the market and I was supposed to be practicing scales. Instead, I was perched on the sill, watching the gulls wheel over the harbor. The paper was thin, (5) almost translucent, and the words were mercifully few: Father’s ship had gone down in a storm off the Azores. No survivors expected. I read it three times before the meaning settled into my bones like cold water.     Mother found me still holding it when she returned, her basket heavy with cod (10) and turnips. She took one look at my face and set the basket down carefully, as if it contained something fragile. We did not speak. She simply took the telegram from my hands, read it once, and folded it into a square (15) so small it disappeared into her apron pocket. Then she picked up the basket and walked to the kitchen. I heard her pumping water, the familiar clank of the kettle. When I finally followed, she was peeling turnips with steady hands, (20) her mouth set in a line I had never seen before.

1. The narrator was supposed to be practicing scales, which suggests that he or she

1. is a musician in training
2. works in a fish market
3. is studying mathematics
4. helps Mother with cooking

2. As used in line 6, the word settled most nearly means

1. resolved
2. sank in
3. colonized
4. calmed

3. The narrator read the telegram three times because

1. the handwriting was difficult to decipher
2. the message was hard to accept emotionally
3. Mother asked the narrator to memorize it
4. the words were written in a foreign language

4. Mother’s action of folding the telegram into a very small square suggests that she

1. wanted to preserve it carefully for later
2. was trying to hide the news from neighbors
3. wished to contain or control the painful news
4. planned to throw it away immediately

5. The tone of the passage can best be described as

1. joyful and celebratory
2. restrained and sorrowful
3. anxious and frantic
4. angry and resentful

6. The detail that Mother peeled turnips with “steady hands” (line 19) most likely suggests that she

1. was not affected by the news about Father
2. did not understand what the telegram meant
3. was maintaining composure despite her grief
4. had expected this news for a long time

7. The passage is narrated from the point of view of

1. an adult reflecting on a childhood memory
2. a child experiencing events in the present
3. Mother describing her own emotions
4. an outside observer watching the family

Passage 2

The following passage is adapted from a general-audience archaeology article.

    For decades, archaeologists believed that the peopling of the Americas occurred via a single migration across the Bering land bridge roughly 13,000 years ago. This model, known as the Clovis First hypothesis, held that big-game hunters (5) carrying distinctive fluted spear points spread rapidly southward through an ice-free corridor. However, recent discoveries have upended this tidy narrative. At Monte Verde in southern Chile, Tom Dillehay’s team unearthed preserved wooden artifacts, medicinal plants, and even a child’s footprint (10) dating to at least 14,500 years ago-more than a millennium before Clovis technology appeared in North America. The site’s location, nearly 10,000 miles south of the Bering Strait, poses a chronological puzzle: how did people reach the southern tip of South America before (15) they left clear traces in the north?     One compelling answer is coastal migration. Instead of trekking through forbidding ice sheets, early Americans may have traveled by boat along the Pacific coastline, harvesting kelp forests and shellfish. This route would have been (20) faster and more hospitable than an inland corridor, but rising sea levels have submerged most evidence beneath hundreds of feet of ocean.

8. The primary purpose of this passage is to

1. describe the tools used by Clovis hunters
2. explain how a long-held archaeological theory has been challenged
3. argue that all migration occurred by boat
4. detail the excavation methods used at Monte Verde

9. According to the passage, the Clovis First hypothesis suggested that early Americans

1. traveled primarily by boat along the coast
2. migrated through an ice-free corridor about 13,000 years ago
3. arrived in Chile before reaching North America
4. lived in permanent settlements rather than hunting

10. As used in line 7, the word upended most nearly means

1. supported
2. clarified
3. overturned
4. decorated

11. The passage indicates that Monte Verde is significant because it

1. contains the oldest Clovis spear points ever found
2. is located near the Bering land bridge
3. provides evidence of human presence older than Clovis artifacts
4. proves that all early Americans were big-game hunters

12. The “chronological puzzle” mentioned in line 13 refers to the question of

1. why early Americans used wooden tools instead of stone
2. how people reached southern Chile before leaving clear northern traces
3. when the Bering land bridge first became passable
4. where Tom Dillehay conducted his research

13. The passage suggests that evidence for coastal migration is difficult to find because

1. early Americans deliberately destroyed their boats
2. archaeologists have not looked in coastal areas
3. rising sea levels have submerged most coastal evidence
4. coastal sites were never as populated as inland sites

14. Based on the passage, which of the following can be inferred about kelp forests?

1. They would have provided food resources for coastal migrants
2. They existed only in the area near Monte Verde
3. They prevented early boat travel along the coast
4. They were used to make the wooden artifacts found in Chile

Passage 3

The following passage is adapted from John Muir’s testimony before the House Committee on the Public Lands in 1913 regarding the proposed damming of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

    Hetch Hetchy Valley, far from being a plain, common, rock-bound meadow, as many who have not seen it seem to suppose, is a grand landscape garden, one of Nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples. As in Yosemite, (5) the sublime rocks of its walls seem to glow with life, whether leaning back in repose or standing erect in thoughtful attitudes, giving welcome to storms and calms alike. The floor, as in Yosemite, is diversified with open groves and meadows, through which (10) the crystal Tuolumne River flows in a sinuous course. No holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man. It should be faithfully preserved for the people forever. Yet the advocates of the dam scheme bring forward the (15) invidious comparison that Hetch Hetchy is a “low-lying meadow.” These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism, seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the Mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. Dam Hetch Hetchy! As well dam (20) for water-tanks the people’s cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.

15. The main purpose of this passage is to

1. describe the geological formation of Yosemite Valley
2. persuade the committee to reject the dam proposal
3. explain how dams are constructed in mountain regions
4. compare several different national parks

16. As used in line 15, the word invidious most nearly means

1. accurate
2. enviable
3. offensively unfair
4. visible

17. Muir compares Hetch Hetchy Valley to all of the following EXCEPT

1. a landscape garden
2. a mountain temple
3. Yosemite Valley
4. a commercial warehouse

18. Muir’s tone toward the dam advocates can best be described as

1. neutral and objective
2. mildly disappointed
3. scornful and condemning
4. sympathetic and understanding

19. By stating that the rocks “seem to glow with life” (line 5), Muir suggests that

1. the rocks contain phosphorescent minerals
2. the valley possesses a vital, almost spiritual quality
3. there are many animals living on the rock walls
4. the rocks are dangerously unstable

20. The phrase “these temple destroyers” (lines 16-17) refers to

1. people who vandalize churches
2. natural forces like storms and floods
3. those who support the dam project
4. tourists who litter in national parks

Answer Key

1. Ans: (A) – is a musician in training
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states the narrator “was supposed to be practicing scales” (lines 2-3), and practicing scales is a standard exercise for learning a musical instrument. Answer (B) is wrong because although Mother goes to the market for fish, there is no indication the narrator works there. Answer (C) is wrong because scales in this context clearly refers to musical scales, not mathematical ones.

2. Ans: (B) – sank in
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. The narrator describes how “the meaning settled into my bones like cold water” (line 6), suggesting the painful realization gradually penetrated or sank into the narrator’s consciousness. Answer (A) is wrong because “resolved” means solved or decided, which does not fit the context of receiving bad news. Answer (C) is wrong because “colonized” refers to establishing settlements, not to emotional comprehension.

3. Ans: (B) – the message was hard to accept emotionally
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage states “I read it three times before the meaning settled into my bones like cold water” (lines 5-6), suggesting the narrator needed multiple readings to absorb the devastating news about Father. Answer (A) is wrong because the telegram is described as having “mercifully few” words with no mention of illegibility. Answer (D) is wrong because nothing in the passage suggests the telegram was in a foreign language.

4. Ans: (C) – wished to contain or control the painful news
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Mother folds the telegram “into a square so small it disappeared into her apron pocket” (lines 14-15), suggesting a symbolic attempt to compress or contain the unbearable information. Answer (A) is wrong because carefully preserving it would not require folding it so small it disappears. Answer (D) is wrong because she puts it in her pocket rather than discarding it.

5. Ans: (B) – restrained and sorrowful
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. The passage describes a devastating loss (Father’s death) but presents it through quiet, controlled actions-Mother’s steady hands peeling turnips (line 19) and the lack of speech between mother and child (line 12). Answer (C) is wrong because neither character exhibits frantic behavior; their responses are notably calm. Answer (D) is wrong because there is no indication of anger or resentment in the passage.

6. Ans: (C) – was maintaining composure despite her grief
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The detail that Mother peels turnips with “steady hands” and a mouth “set in a line I had never seen before” (lines 19-20) suggests she is controlling her emotions through routine tasks. Answer (A) is wrong because the new expression on her face indicates she is affected by the news. Answer (B) is wrong because she read the telegram and clearly understood its meaning.

7. Ans: (B) – a child experiencing events in the present
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. The passage uses present-tense narration (“The telegram arrived,” “I read it”) and the perspective of someone living with Mother and practicing scales, indicating a child narrator in the moment. Answer (A) is wrong because the narration is in past tense but uses immediate, child-like perception rather than adult reflection. Answer (C) is wrong because the narrator is clearly the child, not Mother.

8. Ans: (B) – explain how a long-held archaeological theory has been challenged
Explanation: This is a Main Idea question. The passage describes the Clovis First hypothesis (lines 2-6) and then explains how discoveries at Monte Verde “upended this tidy narrative” (line 7). Answer (A) is wrong because Clovis tools are mentioned only briefly to establish the old theory. Answer (C) is wrong because the passage suggests coastal migration as one possibility, not a definitive claim that all migration occurred by boat.

9. Ans: (B) – migrated through an ice-free corridor about 13,000 years ago
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage explicitly states that the Clovis First hypothesis “held that big-game hunters carrying distinctive fluted spear points spread rapidly southward through an ice-free corridor” around 13,000 years ago (lines 3-6). Answer (A) is wrong because coastal boat travel is presented as an alternative theory, not part of the Clovis First hypothesis. Answer (C) is wrong because the Clovis First model suggested migration from north to south, not Chile first.

10. Ans: (C) – overturned
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. The passage states that recent discoveries “upended this tidy narrative” (line 7), meaning they disrupted or overturned the previous theory. Answer (A) is wrong because “supported” is the opposite of what the discoveries did to the old hypothesis. Answer (B) is wrong because “clarified” suggests making something clearer, while the passage indicates the discoveries contradicted the theory.

11. Ans: (C) – provides evidence of human presence older than Clovis artifacts
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states that Monte Verde contains artifacts “dating to at least 14,500 years ago-more than a millennium before Clovis technology appeared in North America” (lines 10-12). Answer (A) is wrong because Monte Verde contains pre-Clovis artifacts, not Clovis spear points. Answer (B) is wrong because the passage emphasizes Monte Verde is far from the Bering area, nearly 10,000 miles south (line 13).

12. Ans: (B) – how people reached southern Chile before leaving clear northern traces
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage asks: “how did people reach the southern tip of South America before they left clear traces in the north?” (lines 13-15). Answer (A) is wrong because the puzzle concerns timing and location, not tool materials. Answer (C) is wrong because the question is not about when the land bridge became passable but about the sequence of settlement.

13. Ans: (C) – rising sea levels have submerged most coastal evidence
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage explicitly states that the coastal route “would have been faster and more hospitable than an inland corridor, but rising sea levels have submerged most evidence beneath hundreds of feet of ocean” (lines 19-21). Answer (A) is wrong because there is no mention of deliberate destruction. Answer (B) is wrong because the passage does not suggest archaeologists have neglected coastal areas.

14. Ans: (A) – They would have provided food resources for coastal migrants
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage states that early Americans traveling the coast may have been “harvesting kelp forests and shellfish” (line 19), implying kelp forests were a food source. Answer (B) is wrong because the passage discusses kelp forests along the Pacific coastline generally, not just near Monte Verde. Answer (C) is wrong because kelp forests are presented as resources that would support coastal travel, not prevent it.

15. Ans: (B) – persuade the committee to reject the dam proposal
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose question. Muir testifies before a congressional committee and uses passionate language condemning the dam (“temple destroyers,” line 16) while arguing the valley “should be faithfully preserved for the people forever” (line 12). Answer (C) is wrong because Muir does not explain dam construction methods. Answer (D) is wrong because while Yosemite is mentioned for comparison, the passage does not compare several different parks.

16. Ans: (C) – offensively unfair
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. Muir calls the dam advocates’ characterization of Hetch Hetchy as a “low-lying meadow” an “invidious comparison” (line 15), meaning offensively misleading or unfair, since he has just described it as a “grand landscape garden” (line 2). Answer (A) is wrong because Muir clearly believes the comparison is inaccurate, not accurate. Answer (B) is wrong because “enviable” means desirable, which does not fit the critical context.

17. Ans: (D) – a commercial warehouse
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Muir compares Hetch Hetchy to “a grand landscape garden” (line 2), “Nature’s rarest and most precious mountain temples” (line 3), and notes similarities to Yosemite (lines 4-5 and 8-9), but never compares it to a commercial warehouse. Answer (A), (B), and (C) are all explicitly stated comparisons in lines 2-9. He does mention “ravaging commercialism” (line 17), but this describes the dam advocates, not a comparison for the valley itself.

18. Ans: (C) – scornful and condemning
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. Muir calls dam supporters “temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism” with “a perfect contempt for Nature” who worship “the Almighty Dollar” (lines 16-18), showing clear scorn. Answer (A) is wrong because Muir’s language is highly emotional and judgmental, not neutral. Answer (B) is wrong because his tone is far stronger than mild disappointment.

19. Ans: (B) – the valley possesses a vital, almost spiritual quality
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Muir personifies the rocks as seeming “to glow with life” (line 5) and calls the valley a “temple” (line 3), suggesting he views it as having spiritual significance beyond mere geology. Answer (A) is wrong because “glow with life” is clearly metaphorical, not a literal description of phosphorescent minerals. Answer (C) is wrong because the phrase describes the rocks themselves, not animals living on them.

20. Ans: (C) – those who support the dam project
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Muir calls “these temple destroyers” the “devotees of ravaging commercialism” (lines 16-17) immediately after discussing “the advocates of the dam scheme” (line 13), making clear these are the same people. Answer (A) is wrong because the reference is metaphorical-Muir compares natural temples to churches but is not discussing actual church vandals. Answer (B) is wrong because Muir describes natural forces positively as things the rocks “give welcome to” (line 6).