ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension Practice Test 554451 Results

Your Results Global Average
Questions 5 5
Correct 0 2.92
Score 0% 58%

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
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.

2
The 1980 New York Mets season was the 19th regular season for the Mets, who played home games at Shea Stadium. Led by manager Joe Torre, the team had a 67-95 record, yielding a 5th place finish in the National League East.
In the context of this paragraph, the word "yielding" most closely means:
52% Answer Correctly
Being flexible.
Giving way under pressure.
Complying with the requests or desires of others.
Being submissive.

3
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 position of the observer compared to the source.
The hearing of the observer compared to the source.
The frequency of the observer compared to the source.
The speed 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.

4
The main function of the Civil Grand Jury is to investigate county, city, and joint - power agencies. This is a significant civil function. The Grand Jury acts in a watchdog capacity by examining carefully and completely the operations of various government agencies with in Los Angeles County. The Civil Grand Jury cannot investigate state or federal agencies, which lie outside their jurisdiction. Part of the investigation of governmental agencies includes the ability to audit operations, accounts, and records of officers and departments within the agency under investigation. The Civil Grand Jury is further charged with investigating individual complaints from citizens. By statute the Grand Jury is required to inquire regarding the conditions and management of all public prisons within the County of Los Angeles.
According to this passage:
61% Answer Correctly
Auditing is the only method the Grand Jury uses during an investigation of a department .
The Civil Grand Jury is able to investigate any public sector agency within the County of Los Angeles.
The Grand Jury monitors and investigates the operations of local government agencies in Los Angeles County.
Complaints filed by prisoners are not investigated by the Grand Jury.

Solution
The passage states that the Grand Jury examines the operations of various government agencies within Los Angeles County.

5
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." - Emma Lazarus, inscription for the Statue of Liberty
In the context of this paragraph the word "teeming" means:
69% Answer Correctly
foreign
homeless
overflowing
alone

Solution
In this quotation, "teeming" is closest in meaning to overflowing.