Reading Passage for HSPT - 62

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 ferry lurched as it pulled away from the dock at Larkspur, and Margaret clutched the railing, her knuckles whitening. She had made this crossing a hundred times as a girl, but that was before the war, before everything had changed. Now the fog rolling in from the Pacific seemed heavier, more deliberate, as if (5) it meant to swallow the Golden Gate whole. Below her, the water churned gray-green, flecked with foam.

    Her brother’s letter sat folded in her coat pocket. She didn’t need to read it again; she had memorized every word during the train ride from Sacramento. “The house is still standing,” he had written, “but you wouldn’t (10) recognize the neighborhood. Half the families are gone.” Margaret wondered if the Yamaguchis’ store was still there, or if it had been shuttered like so many others, the windows papered over with notices she didn’t want to imagine.

    A gull cried overhead, sharp and insistent. Margaret turned (15) her face toward the city, trying to pick out familiar landmarks through the mist. The hills were there, at least, unchanging. She thought of her mother’s garden, the roses that had climbed the trellis each spring. By now they would be wild, untended. Her mother had died (20) the winter before Pearl Harbor, spared the knowledge of what was to come.

1. The primary purpose of the first paragraph is to

1. describe the physical geography of San Francisco Bay
2. establish the setting and the narrator’s emotional state
3. explain why Margaret left her hometown years ago
4. contrast Margaret’s childhood with her adult life

2. As used in line 6, the word “deliberate” most nearly means

1. careful
2. intentional
3. slow
4. thoughtful

3. The detail about Margaret’s “knuckles whitening” (line 3) suggests that she is

1. cold from the ocean wind
2. anxious or tense
3. elderly and frail
4. excited to see her brother

4. According to the passage, Margaret has memorized her brother’s letter because she

1. read it repeatedly on the train from Sacramento
2. has an excellent memory for written text
3. received it several months ago
4. finds its contents deeply upsetting

5. The passage suggests that the Yamaguchis were most likely

1. Margaret’s relatives who moved away before the war
2. a Japanese American family affected by wartime policies
3. neighbors who sold their store voluntarily
4. friends of Margaret’s brother who still live in the neighborhood

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

1. bitter and accusatory
2. melancholy and apprehensive
3. nostalgic and cheerful
4. detached and clinical

7. The statement that Margaret’s mother was “spared the knowledge of what was to come” (lines 19-20) implies that

1. Margaret’s mother would have been distressed by the changes brought by the war
2. Margaret wished her mother had lived longer
3. the war caused Margaret’s mother’s death
4. Margaret’s mother disapproved of Japanese Americans

Passage 2

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

    In the parched landscapes of the American Southwest, the creosote bush reigns as one of the most successful desert survivors. This humble shrub, with its small waxy leaves and twisted branches, can live for thousands of years-not as a single plant, but as an expanding (5) clone. When a creosote bush reaches old age, its central stem dies, but its root crown continues to send up new stems in a widening ring. Over millennia, this ring grows outward, leaving a bare center where the original plant once stood.

    The most famous of these clones, nicknamed “King Clone,” (10) grows in the Mojave Desert near Lucerne Valley, California. Radiocarbon dating of wood fragments from its center suggests the clone may be nearly 12,000 years old, making it one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. Yet this longevity comes with peculiar consequences. Because each ring represents a genetically identical (15) copy of the original plant, King Clone has not evolved in response to environmental changes for thousands of years. It survives not through adaptation, but through sheer physiological resilience.

    Creosote’s success lies in its biochemical defenses. The plant produces toxic resins that discourage herbivores and inhibit the growth of nearby (20) plants, reducing competition for scarce water. After rain, the bush releases a distinctive scent-a sharp, medicinal aroma that has become synonymous with the desert itself.

8. The main idea of the passage is that

1. King Clone is the oldest living thing on the planet
2. the creosote bush survives in harsh environments through unique biological strategies
3. desert plants have evolved complex adaptations over thousands of years
4. radiocarbon dating has revolutionized our understanding of plant longevity

9. According to the passage, when a creosote bush ages, its central stem

1. continues to produce new leaves indefinitely
2. dies while the root crown generates new stems
3. sends up shoots in a widening circle
4. releases toxic resins to protect itself

10. As used in line 16, the word “adaptation” most nearly means

1. survival
2. evolutionary change
3. adjustment
4. modification

11. The passage indicates that King Clone has remained genetically unchanged because

1. it reproduces by cloning itself rather than through sexual reproduction
2. the Mojave Desert environment has not changed in 12,000 years
3. its toxic resins prevent mutations from occurring
4. radiocarbon dating has preserved its original DNA

12. The author’s purpose in mentioning the “bare center” (line 7) is to

1. explain how scientists determine the age of creosote clones
2. illustrate the physical result of the creosote’s cloning process
3. describe the habitat preferences of the creosote bush
4. emphasize the harshness of desert conditions

13. The passage suggests that creosote bushes inhibit the growth of nearby plants in order to

1. create bare centers where new stems can grow
2. protect themselves from herbivores
3. reduce competition for limited water resources
4. release their characteristic scent after rainfall

14. The structure of the passage can best be described as

1. a chronological narrative of King Clone’s history
2. a general introduction followed by a specific example and then an explanation of survival mechanisms
3. a comparison of different desert plant species
4. a scientific argument supported by experimental evidence

Passage 3

The following passage is adapted from a 1917 speech by Emmeline Pankhurst to a Hartford, Connecticut audience during her American tour.

    I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle to explain what civil war is like when civil war is waged by women. I am not here to advocate violence, but to explain the reasoning behind actions that the press has (5) called “mad” and “criminal.” We have tried every peaceful means-petitions, deputations, demonstrations-and we have been met with indifference or scorn. When a man fights for his liberty, you call him a patriot. When a woman does the same, you call her a fanatic.

    The argument of the broken window pane is the most valuable (10) argument in modern politics. I can tell you of women who have been imprisoned, forcibly fed, treated like criminals, not because they broke the law for personal gain, but because they broke it to force the government to recognize their humanity. You ask us why we do not use constitutional methods. I ask you, what (15) constitutional methods exist for those who have no constitutional rights? We are not in the constitution. We do not make the laws. We have no voice in choosing those who make them. Yet we are expected to obey.

    Some of you may think this is unwomanly. I tell you, it is because we are women (20) that we act thus. Men have always fought for freedom. Now women do the same, and the world recoils in shock.

15. Pankhurst’s primary purpose in this speech is to

1. apologize for the violent tactics used by suffragettes
2. justify militant actions taken in pursuit of women’s suffrage
3. compare the suffrage movement to a military campaign
4. criticize American women for their lack of political activism

1. extremist
2. enthusiast
3. believer
4. supporter

17. According to the passage, suffragettes have been imprisoned because they

1. organized peaceful petitions and demonstrations
2. broke laws intentionally to draw attention to their cause
3. refused to obey any government authority
4. acted in ways considered unwomanly by society

18. Pankhurst’s question “what constitutional methods exist for those who have no constitutional rights?” (lines 14-15) serves to

1. request specific legal advice from her audience
2. highlight the contradiction in expecting disenfranchised people to use legal channels
3. suggest that the constitution should be completely rewritten
4. prove that all constitutional methods have failed

19. The tone of the passage is best described as

1. apologetic and conciliatory
2. defiant and impassioned
3. scholarly and detached
4. humorous and lighthearted

20. When Pankhurst says “it is because we are women that we act thus” (lines 19-20), she most likely means that

1. women are naturally more violent than men
2. women’s exclusion from power justifies their militant response
3. women should behave differently from men in political matters
4. being a woman makes one more emotional and irrational

Answer Key

1. Ans: (B) – establish the setting and the narrator’s emotional state
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. The first paragraph describes the ferry departure and fog (setting) while also conveying Margaret’s tension through details like her whitening knuckles and the observation that she had made this trip before “before everything had changed” (lines 3-4). Choice (A) is too narrow, focusing only on geography rather than the emotional dimension. Choice (C) is not stated in the passage; we learn only that she made the crossing as a girl, not why she left.

2. Ans: (B) – intentional
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 6, the fog is described as “more deliberate, as if it meant to swallow the Golden Gate whole,” suggesting purposeful or intentional action. Choice (A), “careful,” refers to precision rather than purpose. Choice (D), “thoughtful,” implies reflection or consideration, which does not fit the context of fog moving with seeming purpose.

3. Ans: (B) – anxious or tense
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Whitening knuckles from gripping the railing (line 3) is a physical manifestation of nervousness or tension, reinforced by the broader context of her returning to a changed place after the war. Choice (A) misinterprets the physical detail as being caused by cold rather than emotion. Choice (D) contradicts the overall apprehensive tone of the passage.

4. Ans: (A) – read it repeatedly on the train from Sacramento
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage explicitly states that Margaret “had memorized every word during the train ride from Sacramento” (lines 8-9). Choice (B) may be true but is not stated in the passage. Choice (C) is contradicted by the reference to the recent train ride.

5. Ans: (B) – a Japanese American family affected by wartime policies
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Margaret wonders if the Yamaguchis’ store “had been shuttered like so many others, the windows papered over with notices she didn’t want to imagine” (lines 11-13), which strongly suggests Japanese American internment during World War II. Choice (A) is not supported; there is no indication they are relatives. Choice (C) contradicts the implication that the store was closed involuntarily due to wartime policies.

6. Ans: (B) – melancholy and apprehensive
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. The passage conveys sadness about past loss (her mother, the changed neighborhood) and anxiety about what Margaret will find (lines 11-13, lines 15-17). Choice (A) is too strong; there is no bitterness or accusation. Choice (C) contradicts the overall mood; while there is nostalgia, it is not cheerful.

7. Ans: (A) – Margaret’s mother would have been distressed by the changes brought by the war
Explanation: This is an Inference question. Saying her mother was “spared the knowledge of what was to come” (lines 19-20) implies that the war’s events would have caused her pain or distress. Choice (C) reverses the causal relationship stated; her mother died before Pearl Harbor, not because of the war. Choice (D) makes an unsupported assumption about the mother’s attitudes.

8. Ans: (B) – the creosote bush survives in harsh environments through unique biological strategies
Explanation: This is a Main Idea question. The passage describes how the creosote bush thrives through cloning (lines 4-8), longevity without evolution (lines 14-17), and biochemical defenses (lines 18-22). Choice (A) is too narrow, focusing only on King Clone rather than creosote bushes generally. Choice (C) is contradicted by the passage, which states King Clone has “not evolved” (line 15).

9. Ans: (B) – dies while the root crown generates new stems
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states, “When a creosote bush reaches old age, its central stem dies, but its root crown continues to send up new stems” (lines 4-6). Choice (C) is partially correct but reverses the sequence; the root crown sends up stems, not the central stem. Choice (D) refers to a different survival mechanism mentioned later in the passage.

10. Ans: (B) – evolutionary change
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 16, the passage states King Clone “has not evolved in response to environmental changes,” making “adaptation” refer to evolutionary change rather than mere adjustment. Choice (C), “adjustment,” is too general and lacks the evolutionary context. Choice (D), “modification,” could apply but does not capture the specific biological meaning of evolutionary adaptation.

11. Ans: (A) – it reproduces by cloning itself rather than through sexual reproduction
Explanation: This is an Extended Reasoning question. The passage explains that new stems represent “a genetically identical copy of the original plant” (lines 14-15), and this cloning process prevents evolutionary change. Choice (B) is not stated and is factually incorrect; environments do change over millennia. Choice (C) confuses the toxic resins’ function (lines 18-19), which is to discourage herbivores, not prevent mutations.

12. Ans: (B) – illustrate the physical result of the creosote’s cloning process
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose question. The “bare center” (line 7) is mentioned to show what happens after the ring of stems expands outward, leaving emptiness where the original plant stood. Choice (A) is incorrect; the bare center is not mentioned as a dating method. Choice (D) is too broad and does not address the specific purpose of this detail.

13. Ans: (C) – reduce competition for limited water resources
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. The passage states that toxic resins “inhibit the growth of nearby plants, reducing competition for scarce water” (lines 19-20). Choice (A) confuses different concepts; bare centers result from the cloning process, not from inhibiting other plants. Choice (B) refers to a different function of the resins mentioned in the same sentence.

14. Ans: (B) – a general introduction followed by a specific example and then an explanation of survival mechanisms
Explanation: This is a Structure/Organization question. The first paragraph introduces creosote bushes generally (lines 1-8), the second focuses on King Clone specifically (lines 9-17), and the third explains biochemical defenses (lines 18-22). Choice (A) is incorrect because the passage is not chronological. Choice (C) is wrong because only one plant species is discussed.

15. Ans: (B) – justify militant actions taken in pursuit of women’s suffrage
Explanation: This is an Author’s Purpose question. Pankhurst states she is there “to explain the reasoning behind actions that the press has called ‘mad’ and ‘criminal’” (lines 4-6) and argues for the necessity of such actions. Choice (A) contradicts the passage; she explicitly does not apologize but rather defends the actions. Choice (D) is not supported; she addresses an American audience but does not criticize them.

16. Ans: (A) – extremist
Explanation: This is a Vocabulary in Context question. In line 9, Pankhurst contrasts how men fighting for liberty are called patriots while women doing the same are called “fanatics,” using the term in its negative sense of extremist. Choice (B), “enthusiast,” is too mild and lacks the pejorative connotation. Choice (D), “supporter,” does not capture the intensity or negative judgment implied.

17. Ans: (B) – broke laws intentionally to draw attention to their cause
Explanation: This is a Detail/Fact question. Pankhurst states women have “been imprisoned, forcibly fed, treated like criminals, not because they broke the law for personal gain, but because they broke it to force the government to recognize their humanity” (lines 11-14). Choice (A) is contradicted; peaceful methods are mentioned as having failed, not as reasons for imprisonment. Choice (C) is too broad and not stated.

18. Ans: (B) – highlight the contradiction in expecting disenfranchised people to use legal channels
Explanation: This is an Extended Reasoning question. The rhetorical question (lines 14-15) points out the logical impossibility of using constitutional methods when one has no constitutional standing, immediately followed by “We are not in the constitution” (line 16). Choice (A) treats the rhetorical question as a literal request. Choice (D) is too broad; she argues the methods are unavailable, not merely that they have failed.

19. Ans: (B) – defiant and impassioned
Explanation: This is a Tone/Mood question. Pankhurst forcefully defends militant actions, challenges her critics, and uses passionate language throughout (“I tell you,” line 19; “the world recoils in shock,” line 21). Choice (A) is contradicted by the entire passage; she shows no apology. Choice (C) is incorrect; the speech is emotionally charged, not detached.

20. Ans: (B) – women’s exclusion from power justifies their militant response
Explanation: This is an Inference question. In context (lines 19-21), Pankhurst argues that women act militantly precisely because of their position as women denied rights, paralleling how “men have always fought for freedom.” Choice (A) reverses her meaning entirely. Choice (D) contradicts her argument; she rejects the notion that women’s actions are irrational, instead arguing they are justified.