ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension Practice Test 365228 Results

Your Results Global Average
Questions 5 5
Correct 0 2.77
Score 0% 55%

Review

1
Ohio started the month of July with its pedal to the metal. The Buckeye State became the 34th state to adopt the 70 miles-an-hour speed limit. Drivers can now do up to 70 on more than 570 of Ohio's 1,332 miles of interstate highway. Congress repealed the 55 mph national limit in 1995. Despite predictions of calamity and carnage on the highways, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in October 1998 that "the traffic death rate dropped to a record low level in 1997". That pattern has continued since then.
You can infer from this paragraph that higher speed limits _______________ the traffic death rate.
71% Answer Correctly
are not linked to
have no impact on
reduce
increase

Solution
The paragraph cites research that indicates a long term decrease in the traffic death rate since the national speed limit was repealed in 1995. This lends credence to the opinion that higher speed limits reduce the traffic death rate.

2
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
Two editions of the same text written one-hundred years apart.
Old folk songs that have been passed down among generations of speakers of the language.
The same text written in two different dialects of the language.
An ancient text written in the language.

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.

3
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that began in the United States around 1870. Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as a instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics - such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science - are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of representative accuracy.
Pragmatism would best be described as a philosophy that focuses on:
59% Answer Correctly
Practicality and present problem solving.
Reflection and learning from the past.
Imagination and planning for the future.
Describing and understanding the nature of reality.

Solution
According to this passage, pragmatists focus on present problem solving and the practical uses of philosophy.

4
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution.
Based on this passage, which of the following statements is false?
47% Answer Correctly
An organism that is endemic cannot have a cosmopolitan distribution.
Endemism requires an organism be unique to a defined geographic location.
An organism that is indigenous to Australia can be found in India.
An organism that is endemic to Australia can be found in India.

Solution
You don't necessarily need to know the definitions of the words in a paragraph to figure out the correct answer. Just go through the answers one by one and logically compare the answer to the the paragraph and eliminate the answers that aren't supported by the facts.

5
The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (ACC) is one of the largest and most progressive animal control agencies in the United States. The ACC operates six animal shelters serving all unincorporated County areas and 50 contract cities. The ACC covers more than 3,200 square miles of cities, deserts, beaches, and mountains; from the Antelope Valley in the north to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the south; as far east as the border of San Bernardino County and west all the way to Thousand Oaks. The ACC provides animal control and rescue services 24 hours a day, seven days a week in our service area.
According to this passage:
34% Answer Correctly
Animal Care and Control operates within and outside of Los Angeles County.
Services are provided to any city or unincorporated area within the 3,200 miles covered by the Agency.
The ACC provides control and rescue services for some cities.
The ACC handles only domestic animals.

Solution
The passage states that the ACC serves 50 contract cities within Los Angeles County, not any city, and does not state that the ACC handles only domestic animals.