READING QUESTION TYPES

Question type 1: VOCABULARY

Cultural Universals
In many Asian cultures, for example, family members from all generations commonly
live together in one household. In these cultures, young adults will continue to live in
the extended family structure until they marry and join their spouse’s household, or
they may remain and raise their nuclear family. In the United States, by contrast,
individuals are expected to leave home and live independently for a period before
forming a family unit consisting of parents and their offspring.

Q. The word offspring is closest in meaning to …

a. Origins
b. Ancestors
c. Children
d. Elders

Chemistry: The Central Science

Chemistry is sometimes referred to as “the central science” due to its
interconnectedness with a vast array of other STEM disciplines (STEM stands for
areas of study in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields). Chemistry
and the language of chemists play vital roles in biology, medicine, materials science,
forensics, environmental science, and many other fields.

Q. The word interconnectedness is closest in meaning to …

a. Association
b. Interrogation
c. Dependence
d. Togetherness
Question type 2: REFERENCE
In a "Reference" question, you are asked what the highlighted word refers to. If it's a
pronoun then you need to identify what word the pronoun is replacing. Here are
highlighted words you might be asked about:
1. Subject pronoun: it, they
2. Object pronoun: it, them
3. Demonstrative pronoun: these, those, this, that
4. Possessive adjectives: its, their
5. Other reference words: the former, the latter, one, ones, another, other,
others
Question forms
The word/ phrase in paragraph X refers to
Strategy
- The referent usually appears before the pronoun in the same sentence or
shows up in an earlier sentence. Sometimes, however, the referent might
be found after the pronoun.
- Substitute your answer for the highlighted word or words in the passage.
- Make sure that your answer is the same number (singular or plural),
gender (male, female), case (first, second, or third person) as the
highlighted pronoun.
Sample Question

[3] Economic contact between Native Americans and Europeans can be traced
back to the English and French fishermen off the coast of Canada in the 1500s.
They traded guns and other weapons for beaver fur. The first explorers to trade
with the Native Americans were Giovanni da Verrazano and Jacques Cartier in the
1520s and 1530s. In Verrazano's book he notes, "If we wanted to trade with them
for some of their things, they would come to the seashore on some rocks where the
breakers were most violent while we remained on the little boat, and they sent us
what they wanted to give on a rope, continually shouting to us not to approach the
land."

The word 'They' in paragraph 3 refers to?

A. English and French fishermen
B. Beavers
C. Europeans
D. Traits and characteristics

PRACTICE 1

Hunter-Gatherer
Hunter-gatherer societies demonstrate the strongest dependence on the
environment of the various types of preindustrial societies. As the basic structure of
human society until about 10,000–12,000 years ago, these groups were based
around kinship or tribes. Hunter-gatherers relied on their surroundings for survival—
they hunted wild animals and foraged for uncultivated plants for food.

Q. The phrase these groups refers to …

a. Human society
b. Years ago
c. Preindustrial societies
d. Hunter-gatherer societies
PRACTICE 2

Cultural Imperialism
A high level of appreciation for one’s own culture can be healthy; a shared sense of
community pride, for example, connects people in a society. But ethnocentrism can
lead to disdain or dislike for other cultures, causing misunderstanding and conflict.
People with the best intentions sometimes travel to a society to “help” its people,
seeing them as uneducated or backward; essentially inferior. In reality, these
travelers are guilty of cultural imperialism, the deliberate imposition of one’s own
cultural values on another culture.

Q. The words these travelers refer to …

a. Its people
b. Them
c. Cultural values
d. People with the best intentions

Question type 3: FACTUAL INFORMATION

Factual Information questions ask you to recognize information that is explicitly
stated in the text. These may include facts such as major ideas, supporting details,
or definitions.
Question forms
- According to the passage, which of the following is true of ?
- According to paragraph A, who/ when/ where/ what/ how/ why ?
- According to the passage, X did Y because ?
- The author’s description of X mentions which of the following?
Strategy
- Read the question first to know what exactly is being asked and identify
keywords.
- Scan the passage for keywords, which is where the relevant information is
in the passage.
- Remove the choices that are not relevant to the passage.
- Do not choose an answer just because it is mentioned in the passage.
Sample Questions

The Invention of the X-Ray

German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was experimenting with electrical
current when he discovered that a mysterious and invisible “ray” would pass
through his flesh but leave an outline of his bones on a screen coated with a metal
compound. In 1895, Röntgen made the first durable record of the internal parts of a
living human: an “X-ray” image (as it came to be called) of his wife’s hand.
Scientists around the world quickly began their own experiments with X-rays, and
by 1900, X-rays were widely used to detect a variety of injuries and diseases. In
1901, Röntgen was awarded the first Nobel Prize for physics for his work in this
field. The X-ray is a form of high energy electromagnetic radiation with a short
wavelength capable of penetrating solids and ionizing gases. As they are used in
medicine, X-rays are emitted from an X-ray machine and directed toward a
specially treated metallic plate placed behind the patient’s body. The beam of
radiation results in darkening of the X-ray plate. X-rays are slightly impeded by soft
tissues, which show up as gray on the X-ray plate, whereas hard tissues, such as
bone, largely block the rays, producing a light-toned “shadow.” Thus, X-rays are
best used to visualize hard body structures such as teeth and bones. Like many
forms of high energy radiation, however, X- rays are capable of damaging cells and
initiating changes that can lead to cancer. This danger of excessive exposure to X-
rays was not fully appreciated for many years after their widespread use.

Q. The paragraph states that x-rays…

a. Were invented by a female scientist in the 19th century
b. Were commonly used in medicine to find diseases and injuries as early as the
1900’s
c. Are typically used for observing the exterior structures of the body
d. Were only widely appreciated several years following their invention
PRACTICE 1

The Ideal Gas Law

During the seventeenth and especially eighteenth centuries, driven both by a desire
to understand nature and a quest to make balloons in which they could fly, a number
of scientists established the relationships between the macroscopic physical
properties of gases, that is, pressure, volume, temperature, and amount of gas.
Although their measurements were not precise by today’s standards, they were able
to determine the mathematical relationships between pairs of these variables (e.g.,
pressure and temperature, pressure and volume) that hold for an ideal gas—a
hypothetical construct that real gases approximate under certain conditions.
Eventually, these individual laws were combined into a single equation—the ideal
gas law—that relates gas quantities for gases and is quite accurate for low pressures
and moderate temperatures.

Q. According to the paragraph, what occurred between the 1600’s and 1700’s?
 a. Scientists constructed a hypothesis about gas pressure, volume, and
temperature
b. Scientists discovered connections between the visible physical features of
gases
c. Precise measurements regarding the ideal gas were developed by a physicist
d. Imprecise standards about gases were determined by a small group of
scientists

PRACTICE 2
Social Roles
One major social determinant of human behavior is our social roles. A social role is
an pattern of behavior that is expected of a person in a given setting or group. Each
one of us has several social roles. You may be, at the same time, a student, a
parent, an aspiring teacher, a son or daughter, a spouse, and a lifeguard. How do
these social roles influence your behavior? Social roles are defined by culturally
shared knowledge. That is, nearly everyone in a given culture knows what behavior
is expected of a person in a given role. For example, what is the social role for a
student? If you look around a college classroom you will likely see students
engaging in studious behavior, taking notes, listening to the professor, reading the
textbook, and sitting quietly at their desks. Of course you may see students
deviating from the expected studious behavior such as texting on their phones or
using Facebook on their laptops, but in all cases, the students that you observe are
attending class—a part of the social role of students.
Social roles, and our related behavior, can vary across different settings. How do
you behave when you are engaging in the role of son or daughter and attending a
family function? Now imagine how you behave when you are engaged in the role of
employee at your workplace. It is very likely that your behavior will be different.
Perhaps you are more relaxed and outgoing with your family, making jokes and
doing silly things. But at your workplace you might speak more professionally, and
although you may be friendly, you are also serious and focused on getting the work
completed. These are examples of how our social roles influence and often dictate
our behavior to the extent that identity and personality can vary with context (that is,
in different social groups).

Q. According to paragraph 2, which of the following is true of social roles?

a. They usually remain the same regardless of setting and environment
b. Humans take on different social roles based on their surroundings
c. Certain individuals change their behavior depending on their expectations
d. All people are more comfortable with their families but are always professional in
the workplace
PRACTICE 3

Calorimetry
One technique we can use to measure the amount of heat involved in a chemical or
physical process is known as calorimetry. Calorimetry is used to measure amounts
of heat transferred to or from a substance. To do so, the heat is exchanged with a
calibrated object (calorimeter). The temperature change measured by the
calorimeter is used to derive the amount of heat transferred by the process under
study. The measurement of heat transfer using this approach requires the definition
of a system (the substance or substances undergoing the chemical or physical
change) and its surroundings (the other components of the measurement apparatus
that serve to either provide heat to the system or absorb heat from the system).
Knowledge of the heat capacity of the surroundings, and careful measurements of
the masses of the system and surroundings and their temperatures before and after
the process allows one to calculate the heat transferred.

A calorimeter is a device used to measure the amount of heat involved in a chemical

or physical process. For example, when an exothermic reaction occurs in solution in
a calorimeter, the heat produced by the reaction is absorbed by the solution, which
increases its temperature. When an endothermic reaction occurs, the heat required
is absorbed from the thermal energy of the solution, which decreases its
temperature. The temperature change, along with the specific heat and mass of the
solution, can then be used to calculate the amount of heat involved in either case.

Q. Calorimetry is best described as:

a. A way of measuring the transfer of heat between chemicals
b. The measurement of heat in a system’s surroundings
c. The only way to measure heat transfer between objects
d. A method of measuring how much heat occurs in either a physical or chemical
process
Question type 4: NEGATIVE FACTUAL INFORMATION
Question forms
- According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true of ?
- All of the following are mentioned in paragraph X as EXCEPT:
- The author’s description of mentions all of the following
EXCEPT.
- Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
Strategy:
- Read, scan for keywords and synonyms, and simplify the question.
- Eliminate incorrect choices.
- Don’t forget that the necessary information may be spread out over an
entire paragraph or several paragraphs.
Sample Questions
 [4] Darwin's theory is that 'selective breeding' occurs in nature as 'natural selection'
is the engine behind evolution. Thus, the theory provides an excellent basis for
understanding how organisms change over time. Nevertheless, it is just a theory
and elusively difficult to prove. One of the major holes in Darwin's theory revolves
around “irreducibly complex systems.” An irreducibly complex system is known as a
system where many different parts must all operate together. As a result, in the
absence of one, the system as a whole collapses. Consequently, as modern
technology improves, science can identify these “irreducibly complex systems” even
at microscopic levels. These complex systems, if so inter-reliant, would be resistant
to Darwin's supposition of how evolution occurs. As Darwin himself admitted, “To
suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus for
different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of
spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection,
seems, I free confess, absurd in the highest degree.

All of the following are mentioned in paragraph 4 as a viewpoint to state the natural
selection is difficult to prove EXCEPT
A. The belief that the complexity of the human eye could have been formed by
natural selection seems highly unlikely
B. The presence of irreducibly complex system contradicts how evolution occurs
C. Modern microbiology proves that irreducibly complex systems exist
D. Selective breeding is the major hole in the theory of natural selection

PRACTICE 1

Prosopagnosia
The failures of sensory perception can be unusual and debilitating. A particular
sensory deficit that inhibits an important social function of humans is
prosopagnosia, or face blindness. The word comes from the Greek words prosopa,
that means “faces,” and agnosia, that means “not knowing.” Some people may feel
that they cannot recognize people easily by their faces. However, a person with
prosopagnosia cannot recognize the most recognizable people in their respective
cultures. They would not recognize the face of a celebrity, an important historical
figure, or even a family member like their mother. They may not even recognize
their own face.

Q. Which of the following is NOT true about prosopagnosia?

a. Another name for prosopagnosia is face blindness
b. The word is derived from two Greek words that were combined
c. Some individuals suffering from face blindness might not be able to recognize
themselves
d. People with this sensory deficit can’t recognize celebrities or historical figures,
but they normally recognize close family members

PRACTICE 2
Europa, a Moon with an Ocean
Europa and the inner two Galilean moons, are not icy worlds like most of the
moons of the outer planets. With densities and sizes similar to our Moon, they
appear to be predominantly rocky objects.
The most probable cause is Jupiter itself, which was hot enough to radiate a great
deal of infrared energy during the first few million years after its formation. This
infrared radiation would have heated the disk of material near the planet that would
eventually coalesce into the closer moons.
Thus, any ice near Jupiter was vaporized, leaving Europa with compositions similar
to planets in the inner solar system.
Despite its mainly rocky composition, Europa has an ice-covered surface, as
astronomers have long known from examining spectra of sunlight reflected from it.
In this it resembles Earth, which has a layer of water on its surface, but in Europa’s
case the water is capped by a thick crust of ice. There are very few impact craters
in this ice, indicating that the surface of Europa is in a continual state of geological
self-renewal. Judging from crater counts, the surface must be no more than a few
million years old, and perhaps substantially less. In terms of its ability to erase
impact craters, Europa is more geologically active than Earth.
When we look at close-up photos of Europa, we see a strange, complicated
surface. For the most part, the icy crust is extremely smooth, but it is crisscrossed
with cracks and low ridges that often stretch for thousands of kilometers. Some of
these long lines are single, but most are double or multiple, looking rather like the
remnants of a colossal freeway system.
Q. All of the following are true of Europa except …
a. It’s mostly composed of rock with an exterior of ice
b. It looks similar to the planet Earth because both have water on the surface
c. The few impact craters in the ice suggest that it’s renewed itself geologically
once
d. The number of craters indicates that it has a maximum surface age of a few
million years

PRACTICE 3

Diseases
One of the most talked about diseases is skin cancer. Cancer is a broad term that
describes diseases caused by abnormal cells in the body dividing uncontrollably.
Most cancers are identified by the organ or tissue in which the cancer originates.
One common form of cancer is skin cancer. The Skin Cancer Foundation reports
that one in five Americans will experience some type of skin cancer in their lifetime.
The degradation of the ozone layer in the atmosphere and the resulting increase in
exposure to UV radiation has contributed to its rise. Overexposure to UV radiation
damages DNA, which can lead to the formation of cancerous lesions. Although
melanin offers some protection against DNA damage from the sun, often it is not
enough. The fact that cancers can also occur on areas of the body that are
normally not exposed to UV radiation suggests that there are additional factors that
can lead to cancerous lesions.

Q. All of the following statements are true of cancer except …

a. The term "cancer" usually describes diseases that cause irregular cells to multiply
uncontrollably
b. The most common and fatal form of cancer is skin cancer
c. Approximately 20% of Americans will experience a form of skin cancer
d. Harm to our DNA can cause cancerous spots to form