Reading Passage for HSPT - 24

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 fog clung to the Galway coastline like a sodden wool blanket, and Maire O’Donnell stood at the window of the cottage, watching the gray Atlantic swallow the horizon. Her grandmother had died three days earlier, and the house still smelled of (5) peat smoke and rosemary, though no fire burned now in the hearth. Maire had come from Dublin expecting to settle the estate quickly, to auction off the furniture and return to her flat and her legal briefs by week’s end. But the cottage resisted her efficiency. Every drawer she opened revealed letters tied with string, recipes (10) in faded pencil, photographs of stern-faced men she could not name.     It was the locked trunk beneath the bed that stopped her entirely. She found the key on a nail behind the mirror, small and brass and cold. Inside lay not the linens or silver she anticipated, but newspapers – dozens of them, (15) dated from 1947 to 1952, each folded to show the same column: Missing Persons. Her grandmother’s maiden name, Brennan, appeared in the margins beside certain entries, written in the same careful hand Maire recognized from the recipes. A brother, perhaps? An uncle? Her grandmother had never spoken (20) of any family beyond her late husband.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. describe the natural beauty of the Irish coast
2. introduce a mystery that compels the protagonist to reconsider her plans
3. illustrate the emotional difficulty of losing a loved one
4. explain the historical significance of Missing Persons columns in postwar Ireland

2. The description of the fog as “like a sodden wool blanket” in line 2 primarily serves to

1. emphasize the dampness of the Irish climate
2. suggest the oppressive and clinging nature of Maire’s grief
3. create a vivid image of the physical atmosphere
4. contrast the warmth inside the cottage with the cold outside

3. As used in line 6, the word “settle” most nearly means

1. resolve
2. inhabit
3. calm
4. sink

4. It can be inferred from the passage that Maire’s initial attitude toward her task is one of

1. sentimental nostalgia
2. practical detachment
3. anxious dread
4. bitter resentment

5. According to the passage, the cottage “resisted her efficiency” (line 8) because

1. the furniture was too heavy to move without assistance
2. Maire became distracted by personal items that revealed unknown aspects of her grandmother’s life
3. the legal documents necessary to settle the estate were missing
4. the fog made it impossible to leave the cottage for several days

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

1. melancholy and suspenseful
2. angry and accusatory
3. joyful and celebratory
4. detached and clinical

7. The detail that Maire’s grandmother “had never spoken of any family beyond her late husband” (lines 19-20) suggests that

1. the grandmother was ashamed of her maiden name
2. the grandmother deliberately concealed parts of her past
3. Maire had not been close to her grandmother
4. the Missing Persons entries referred to strangers

Passage 2

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

    When a honeybee returns to the hive after discovering a rich source of nectar, it does not simply deposit its cargo and rest. Instead, the forager performs an intricate dance on the vertical comb, tracing figures that communicate both the direction and distance of the food source to other workers. Karl von (5) Frisch, the Austrian ethologist who decoded this behavior in the 1940s, distinguished two primary patterns: the round dance, used for nearby sources within approximately fifty meters, and the waggle dance, employed for more distant locations. In the waggle dance, the bee moves in a figure-eight pattern, vibrating its abdomen during the central (10) straight segment. The angle of this segment relative to vertical corresponds to the angle between the sun, the hive, and the nectar source, while the duration of the waggle correlates with distance.     What makes this system remarkable is not merely its existence but its precision. Experiments have shown that bees can (15) indicate direction to within a few degrees and distance to within ten percent of accuracy across ranges exceeding several kilometers. Moreover, the dance adjusts for the sun’s movement: a bee that discovers food at dawn and dances an hour later will shift the angle of her waggle run to compensate for the sun’s (20) changed position. This demonstrates not just communication but a sophisticated internal map calibrated to celestial mechanics.

8. The main idea of the passage is that

1. Karl von Frisch was the first scientist to study honeybee behavior
2. honeybees use a complex and precise dance to communicate the location of food sources
3. honeybees are capable of flying several kilometers from their hives
4. the waggle dance is more important than the round dance for bee survival

9. According to the passage, the round dance is used to indicate

1. food sources more than fifty meters away
2. the highest quality nectar
3. food sources within approximately fifty meters
4. locations that require a figure-eight pattern

10. As used in line 7, the word “employed” most nearly means

1. hired
2. utilized
3. occupied
4. exploited

11. The passage indicates that in the waggle dance, distance to the food source is communicated by

1. the angle of the waggle run relative to vertical
2. the duration of the waggle
3. the speed at which the bee moves through the figure-eight
4. the number of times the bee repeats the dance

12. It can be inferred from the passage that the honeybee’s ability to adjust the dance angle over time indicates

1. bees have an internal sense of time and solar position
2. bees prefer to forage in the morning rather than the afternoon
3. the sun moves faster at certain times of day
4. different bees use different methods of calculating direction

13. The author’s purpose in the second paragraph is primarily to

1. compare the round dance to the waggle dance
2. emphasize the accuracy and sophistication of the waggle dance system
3. describe the anatomy of the honeybee
4. explain how Karl von Frisch conducted his experiments

14. The passage suggests that the phrase “sophisticated internal map calibrated to celestial mechanics” (lines 20-21) refers to the bee’s

1. ability to memorize the locations of multiple food sources
2. use of stars for nighttime navigation
3. mental representation of space that accounts for the sun’s movement
4. capacity to communicate with bees in other hives

Passage 3

The following passage is adapted from a historical primary source.

    I stand before you today not as a delegate seeking favor, but as a witness to injustice demanding remedy. For twenty years I have worked in the textile mills of Lowell, and for twenty years I have watched the daughters of New England farmers sacrifice their health, their (5) youth, and too often their lives upon the altar of industrial profit. We are told that the corporation provides us employment, and we should be grateful. Grateful! Shall we be grateful for the privilege of laboring fourteen hours each day in rooms where the air is thick with cotton dust, where the windows are nailed shut to preserve (10) the humidity that keeps the threads from breaking, where the temperature in summer rises above one hundred degrees? Shall we be grateful for wages that decline each year while the dividends paid to distant shareholders rise?     I do not speak from bitterness, but from conviction born of experience. I have seen (15) girls of fifteen enter the mills with rosy cheeks and bright eyes, only to depart five years later pale, hollow-chested, coughing blood into their handkerchiefs. I have attended the funerals of women not yet thirty, dead of consumption contracted in those sealed chambers. The corporation calls this progress. I call it murder conducted (20) by slow degree, and I call upon this assembly to legislate limitations on the hours of labor and requirements for ventilation and safety, that the pursuit of profit may not utterly consume those who create it.

15. The primary purpose of the speaker is to

1. request financial compensation for injured mill workers
2. persuade the assembly to pass labor reform legislation
3. describe the history of the textile industry in Lowell
4. celebrate the employment opportunities provided by the mills

16. As used in line 6, the word “remedy” most nearly means

1. medication
2. correction
3. memory
4. punishment

17. According to the passage, the windows in the mills are kept shut in order to

1. prevent workers from escaping
2. reduce heating costs in winter
3. maintain humidity so threads will not break
4. protect the machinery from dust

18. The speaker’s tone can best be described as

1. indifferent and resigned
2. passionate and accusatory
3. humorous and lighthearted
4. cautiously optimistic

19. It can be inferred from the passage that the speaker believes the relationship between mill workers and shareholders is

1. mutually beneficial and fair
2. exploitative, with workers suffering while shareholders profit
3. unrelated to the question of working conditions
4. improving gradually over time

20. The speaker uses the example of “girls of fifteen” (line 15) primarily to

1. illustrate the rapid physical decline caused by mill work
2. argue that child labor should be completely prohibited
3. demonstrate that young workers are more productive than older ones
4. show that most mill workers come from farming families

Answer Key

1. Ans: (B) – introduce a mystery that compels the protagonist to reconsider her plans
Explanation: This is a Main Idea/Author’s Purpose question. The passage centers on Maire’s discovery of the locked trunk and the mysterious newspapers with Missing Persons columns marked in her grandmother’s handwriting (lines 13-19), which causes her to reconsider her original plan to settle the estate quickly and return to Dublin. Choice (A) is too narrow, as the coastal description is only a brief opening detail. Choice (D) is incorrect because the passage does not explain historical significance, only presents the mystery.

2. Ans: (C) – create a vivid image of the physical atmosphere
Explanation: This is a Structure/Literary Device question. The simile in line 2 functions primarily as descriptive imagery that establishes the setting’s physical atmosphere. While choice (B) offers a symbolic interpretation connecting fog to grief, the passage does not develop this metaphor elsewhere, making it an overly interpretive reading. Choice (D) is incorrect because no warmth inside the cottage is described; in fact, “no fire burned now in the hearth” (line 6).

3. Ans: (A) – resolve
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 6, Maire expects “to settle the estate quickly,” meaning to resolve or finalize the legal and practical matters. Choice (B) is a common meaning of “settle” but does not fit the context of dealing with an estate. Choice (C) represents another meaning of the word but is incorrect here, as Maire is not trying to calm the estate.

4. Ans: (B) – practical detachment
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The passage states that Maire “had come from Dublin expecting to settle the estate quickly, to auction off the furniture and return to her flat and her legal briefs by week’s end” (lines 5-8), indicating a businesslike, emotionally detached approach. Choice (A) is incorrect because nothing in the passage suggests initial nostalgia; rather, she is surprised by the personal items she discovers. Choice (D) is too strong, as there is no evidence of bitterness.

5. Ans: (B) – Maire became distracted by personal items that revealed unknown aspects of her grandmother’s life
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Lines 8-10 explain that “every drawer she opened revealed letters tied with string, recipes in faded pencil, photographs of stern-faced men she could not name,” and lines 13-19 describe the trunk with its mysterious newspapers. Choice (A) is not mentioned anywhere in the passage. Choice (C) is incorrect; legal documents are not discussed as missing.

6. Ans: (A) – melancholy and suspenseful
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. The passage combines sadness (the recent death, the empty cottage) with mounting suspense (the discovery of the locked trunk and unexplained newspapers). Choice (B) is incorrect because there is no anger expressed in the passage. Choice (D) is wrong because the descriptive details and emotional undertones prevent the tone from being clinical or detached.

7. Ans: (B) – the grandmother deliberately concealed parts of her past
Explanation: This is an Inference question. The detail in lines 19-20, combined with the hidden trunk full of carefully marked newspapers about missing persons, suggests intentional concealment of family history. Choice (A) goes beyond what the passage supports; shame is not indicated. Choice (D) contradicts the evidence that the grandmother carefully marked certain entries with her maiden name (lines 16-17), suggesting personal connection.

8. Ans: (B) – honeybees use a complex and precise dance to communicate the location of food sources
Explanation: This is a Main Idea question. The entire passage explains the honeybee waggle dance system and emphasizes its complexity and precision (lines 13-21). Choice (A) is too narrow; while von Frisch is mentioned, he is not the focus. Choice (D) makes a comparison the passage does not support; the waggle dance is for distant sources, the round dance for nearby ones, but no judgment of importance is made.

9. Ans: (C) – food sources within approximately fifty meters
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Lines 5-7 explicitly state that the round dance is “used for nearby sources within approximately fifty meters.” Choice (A) reverses this information, describing instead when the waggle dance is used. Choice (B) is not mentioned; quality of nectar is not discussed in relation to dance type.

10. Ans: (B) – utilized
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 7, the waggle dance is “employed for more distant locations,” meaning it is used or utilized. Choice (A) represents the most common meaning of “employed” but is incorrect in this context, as a dance cannot be hired. Choice (D), “exploited,” carries a negative connotation not present in the neutral scientific description.

11. Ans: (B) – the duration of the waggle
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Lines 11-12 state that “the duration of the waggle correlates with distance.” Choice (A) is incorrect because the angle communicates direction, not distance, as stated in lines 10-11. Choice (C) is not mentioned in the passage as a means of communication.

12. Ans: (A) – bees have an internal sense of time and solar position
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Lines 17-20 describe how a bee will “shift the angle of her waggle run to compensate for the sun’s changed position,” which requires tracking both elapsed time and the sun’s movement. Choice (B) makes a claim about foraging preference that is not stated or implied. Choice (C) distorts the passage; the sun’s apparent movement is constant, and the passage does not suggest otherwise.

13. Ans: (B) – emphasize the accuracy and sophistication of the waggle dance system
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose question. The second paragraph focuses on the precision of the dance (lines 14-16) and the sophisticated adjustment for solar movement (lines 17-21). Choice (A) is incorrect; the comparison of dances occurs in the first paragraph, not the second. Choice (D) is wrong because experimental methods are mentioned only briefly and are not the paragraph’s focus.

14. Ans: (C) – mental representation of space that accounts for the sun’s movement
Explanation: This is an Inference/Extended Reasoning question. The phrase in lines 20-21 follows the description of bees adjusting dance angles to compensate for the sun’s changed position (lines 18-20), indicating an internal spatial system calibrated to celestial movement. Choice (B) is incorrect; the passage discusses only the sun, not stars, and does not mention nighttime navigation. Choice (D) is not mentioned; communication between different hives is not discussed.

15. Ans: (B) – persuade the assembly to legislate labor reform legislation
Explanation: This is a Main Idea/Author’s Purpose question. The speaker explicitly states in lines 19-21: “I call upon this assembly to legislate limitations on the hours of labor and requirements for ventilation and safety.” Choice (A) is incorrect; financial compensation is not requested. Choice (D) reverses the speaker’s position entirely, as the speaker condemns rather than celebrates mill employment.

16. Ans: (B) – correction
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 6, the speaker demands “remedy” for injustice, meaning correction or a solution to the problem. Choice (A) represents a common meaning of “remedy” but does not fit the abstract context of demanding justice. Choice (D) is too extreme; the speaker seeks reform, not punishment per se.

17. Ans: (C) – maintain humidity so threads will not break
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Lines 8-10 explicitly state that “the windows are nailed shut to preserve the humidity that keeps the threads from breaking.” Choice (A) is not mentioned and represents an unsupported interpretation. Choice (B) contradicts the passage, which mentions high temperatures in summer (line 10), not heating concerns.

18. Ans: (B) – passionate and accusatory
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. The speaker’s language is emotionally intense (“sacrifice their health, their youth, and too often their lives,” lines 4-5) and directly accusatory (“I call it murder,” lines 18-19). Choice (A) is incorrect; the speaker is anything but indifferent or resigned, as evidenced by the call to action. Choice (D) is wrong because there is no optimism expressed about current or future conditions.

19. Ans: (B) – exploitative, with workers suffering while shareholders profit
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Lines 11-13 contrast declining wages for workers with rising dividends for “distant shareholders,” and the entire passage describes workers’ suffering while corporations profit. Choice (A) directly contradicts the speaker’s entire argument. Choice (D) is incorrect; the speaker indicates conditions are worsening (“wages that decline each year,” line 12), not improving.

20. Ans: (A) – illustrate the rapid physical decline caused by mill work
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose/Extended Reasoning question. The speaker describes girls who “enter the mills with rosy cheeks and bright eyes, only to depart five years later pale, hollow-chested, coughing blood” (lines 15-17) to demonstrate how quickly mill work destroys health. Choice (B) is too broad; while the example involves young workers, the speaker’s explicit demands in lines 19-21 concern hours and safety, not age restrictions. Choice (C) contradicts the passage entirely, as the example shows workers becoming less healthy, not more productive.