ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension Practice Test 589081 Results

Your Results Global Average
Questions 5 5
Correct 0 3.02
Score 0% 60%

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 Congress repealed the 55 mph national limit in 1995.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
increase
have no impact on
reduce
are not linked to

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cites research that indicates a long term decrease in the traffic death rate since the national speed limit was repealed in 1995.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
The Republican Party, also commonly called the GOP (for "Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery activists in 1854, it dominated politics nationally for most of the period from 1860 to 1932. There have been 18 Republican presidents, the first being Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1861 to 1865, and the most recent being Donald Trump who began serving in 2017.
Based on this passage, which of the following statements is not true?
67% Answer Correctly
The Republican Party was formed by people opposed to slavery.
The Republican Party lost national political influence after the Civil War.
The Democratic Party is a major political party in the United States.
Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president.

Solution
The passage states that the Republican Party dominated politics nationally from 1860 to 1932 which includes the period after the Civil War.

3
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 to Australia can be found in India.
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.

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.

4
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.
Imagination and planning for the future.
Reflection and learning from the past.
Describing and understanding the nature of reality.

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

5
On this date in 1776, rebellious colonials launched the first modern democracy, an experiment in government controlled by the people themselves. America succeeded so well that virtually the entire world later adopted democracy with its guarantee of personal rights.
Based on this paragraph, which of the following statements about the author's beliefs is false?
59% Answer Correctly
America is the first modern democracy.
Virtually the entire world has adopted democracy.
Democracy is the most noble form of government.
Democracy guarantees personal rights.

Solution
This question is asking which of these statements is false given what the author states in the paragraph not whether or not the author is correct or incorrect in those beliefs or what additional beliefs he or she is likely to have. Although you might infer that the author thinks democracy is the most noble form of government, that was not specifically mentioned in the article.