ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension Practice Test 543486 Results

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Questions 5 5
Correct 0 2.80
Score 0% 56%

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
An ancient text written in the language.
The same text written in two different dialects of 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
Volunteer hosts went to the airport, picked up assigned students, fed them dinner, took them to the opening lecture at the Clay Center, put them in spare bedrooms for the night, then fed them breakfast this morning and will deliver the outstanding teens to buses that convey them to the mountain retreat where they undergo a month of intensive science training and outdoor fun.

Luckily, this year, enough local families volunteered to host all the brilliant youths. In the past, the number of guest homes sometimes fell short, and some of the visitors slept on cots and sleeping bags at local churches. They're adventurous teens and don't mind this makeshift camp-in but it's better if friendly hosts give them a more personal welcome for their stay.

Which of the following topics would the next paragraph in this passage most likely cover?
60% Answer Correctly
The story of a time when one of the students stole from his host family.
Instructions for how local families can enroll their children in a similar program.
An overview of what the student's science training will cover.
Instructions for how local families can volunteer to become hosts.
Solution
The author of this passage is painting a positive picture of the students and outlining their need for local host families. Although the next paragraph could be about the student's training, history of crime, or how local children can attend camps overseas the most likely next topic would be instructions for how local families can volunteer to become hosts.
3
A perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river (channel) that has continuous flow in parts of its stream bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. "Perennial" streams are contrasted with "intermittent" streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with "ephemeral" channels that flow only for hours or days following rainfall.
Which of the following is the correct order of stream type from the least amount of time flowing to the most amount of time flowing over the course of a year?
57% Answer Correctly
perennial, intermittent, ephemeral
ephemeral, perennial, intermittent
perennial, ephemeral, intermittent
ephemeral, intermittent, perennial
Solution
Ephemeral streams flow for hours or days, intermittent streams flow for weeks or months, and perennial streams flow continuously throughout the year.
4
The Doppler effect (or Doppler shift), named after the Austrian physicist Christian Doppler, who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave (or other periodic event) for an observer moving relative to its source. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from an observer. The received frequency is higher (compared to the emitted frequency) during the approach, it is identical at the instant of passing by, and it is lower during the recession.
In this paragraph, what is "relative"?
44% Answer Correctly
The hearing of the observer compared to the source.
The speed of the observer compared to the source.
The frequency of the observer compared to the source.
The position of the observer compared to the source.
Solution
According to this passage, the Doppler effect is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. This indicates a difference in the movement and therefore the position of the observer and source.
5
An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries. Product tankers, generally much smaller, are designed to move petrochemicals from refineries to points near consuming markets.
What is the primary difference between crude tankers and product tankers?
53% Answer Correctly
The product tanker is small while the crude tanker is large.
The product tanker carries refined oil products while the crude tanker carries unrefined oil.
The product tanker carries consumer goods while the crude tanker carries industrial goods.
The product tanker carries oil to refineries while the crude tanker carries oil from refineries.