ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension Practice Test 246012 Results

Your Results Global Average
Questions 5 5
Correct 0 3.21
Score 0% 64%

Review

1
In linguistics, the comparative method is a technique for studying the development of languages by performing a feature-by-feature comparison of two or more languages with common descent from a shared ancestor, as opposed to the method of internal reconstruction, which analyzes the internal development of a single language over time.
Which of the following would be the most useful for someone using the comparative method in linguistics when studying a particular language?
66% Answer Correctly
The same text written in two different dialects of the language.
An ancient text written in the language.
Old folk songs that have been passed down among generations of speakers of the language.
Two editions of the same text written one-hundred years apart.
Solution
The wrong answers all provide insight into how a single language has changed over time while the text written in two different dialects offers an opportunity to compare languages that share a common ancestor.
2
Plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and gas). Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms (reducing or increasing the number of electrons in them), thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions.
What does the word "state" most closely mean in the context of this paragraph?
73% Answer Correctly
territory
category
form
condition
Solution
Although each of these words are synonyms for "state", form is the most appropriate given the context of this paragraph.
3
On Monday, after a long quarter-century, West Virginians said goodbye to their state's 6 percent food tax. Now to see what, if any, business we've been missing. In 1989, retailers warned that sales in West Virginia would go down if legislators imposed a 6 percent tax on food. "Whatever they put on would be passed on to the consumer," Charles Forth, who owned supermarkets in both West Virginia and Ohio, told the newspaper in February 1989. "Six percent is $6 on $100. That will make a difference when people are already hurting and trying to make ends meet." It's a lot easier to drive customers away than to win them back, a fact legislators should bear in mind when it comes to taxation.
The author is _______________ that eliminating the 6 percent food tax will bring customers back to West Virginia stores.
45% Answer Correctly
confident
hopeful
denying
skeptical
Solution
The author cites a local retailer who predicted that sales in West Virginia would go down if the food tax was implemented and, although no facts are given to indicate that sales did in fact go down, the tone of the paragraph implies that the perception is that they have. The author is skeptical that eliminating the food tax will bring customers back claiming "It's a lot easier to drive customers away than to win them back".
4
Reserve Deputy Probation Officers are deputized volunteers who have received special training in order to assist Probation staff in a wide range of supervised responsibilities, that include direct involvement with juvenile an d adult probationers. Reserve Deputies are highly motivated, skilled, and caring people who want to serve their community as a part of the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Reserve Deputies are not a replacement for or an alternative to paid staff, but are intended to be an enhancement to existing resources.
From the passage, it can be inferred that:
61% Answer Correctly
Members of the community who become Reserve Deputie s have a desire to give back to the community.
Direct interaction with probationers is the primary Duty of a Reserve Deputy.
Experienced Reserve Deputies supervise new volunteer Reserve Deputies.
Reserve Deputies are able to act independently on the job once they have successfully passed all training requirements.
Solution
The passage states that Reserve Deputies are "people who want to serve their community."
5
The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized 21 Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes eight more. The Mayan language family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas. Modern Mayan languages descend from Proto-Mayan, a language thought to have been spoken at least 5,000 years ago.
Based on this passage, which of the following statements is true?
75% Answer Correctly
The Mayan language family is well documented.
Proto-Mayan is a modern variation of Mayan.
Not much is known about the Mayan language family.
Mayan languages are mainly spoken in South America.