20. Which of the following changes is needed in the passage? a. Part 8: Change its to it’s. b. Part 6: Change their to its. c. Part 6: Change than to then. d. Part 5: Change researchers to researchers’. 21. Which of the following parts uses an adverb incorrectly? a. Part 2 b. Part 8 c. Part 6 d. Part 4 22. Which of the following numbered parts should be revised to reduce unnecessary repetition? a. Part 5 b. Part 6 c. Part 2 d. Part 8 Questions 23–25 are based on the following passage. (1) Loud noises on buses not only irritate passengers but also create unsafe situations. (2) They are pro- hibited by law and by agency policy. (3) Therefore, bus operators are expected to follow the procedures outlined below. (4) A passenger-created disturbance is by play- ing excessively loud music or creating loud noises in some other manner. (5) In the event a passenger creates a disturbance, the bus operator will politely ask the passenger to turn off the music or stop mak- ing the loud noise. (6) If the passenger refuses to comply, the bus operator will tell the passenger that he or she is in violation of the law and bus policy and will have to leave the bus if he or she will not com- ply to the request. (7) If police assistance is requested, the bus operator will stay at the location from which the call to the Command Center was placed or the silent alarm used. (8) The bus opera- tor will wait there until the police arrive, will allow passengers off the bus at this point, and no passen- gers are allowed on until the situation is resolved. 23. Which of the following numbered parts contains a sentence fragment? a. Part 4 b. Part 7 c. Part 3 d. Part 6 24. Which of the following is the best revision of the sentence numbered Part 8 in the passage? a. Bus operators will wait there until the police arrive, will allow passengers off the bus at this point, and no passengers will be allowed on until the situation is resolved. b. Bus operators will wait there until the police arrive, will allow passengers off the bus at this point, and, until the situation is resolved, no passengers are allowed on. c. Bus operators will wait there until the police arrive, will allow passengers off the bus at this point, and will not allow passengers on until the situation is resolved. d. Bus operators will wait there until the police arrive, will allow passengers off the bus at this point, and no passengers will be allowed on until the situation is resolved. 25. Which of the following numbered parts uses a preposition incorrectly? a. Part 2 b. Part 6 c. Part 3 d. Part 8 – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 50 Questions 26–28 are based on the following passage. (1) In 1519, Hernando cortez led his army of Span- ish Conquistadors into Mexico. (2) E quipped with horses, shining armor, and the most advanced weapons of the sixteenth century, he fought his way from the flat coastal area into the mountainous high- lands. (3) Cortez was lo oking for gold, and he were sure that Indian groups in Mexico had mined large amounts of the precious metal. (4) First, he c on- quered the groups and then seized their precious gold using very organized methods. 26. Which of the underlined words in the passage above could be replaced with a more precise verb? a. was looking b. equipped c. conquered d. seized 27. Which of the following sentences uses the verb incorrectly? a. Part 1 b. Part 2 c. Part 3 d. Part 4 28. Which of the following changes needs to be made to the above passage? a. Part 2: Delete the comma after horses. b. Part 1: Capitalize the c in Cortez. c. Part 3: Insert a comma after groups. d. Part 4: Place a semicolon after groups. Questions 29 and 30 are based on the following passage. (1) A report on dropout rates in the United States released by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics found that more young adults are completing high school through alternative methods, such as the GED. (2) “Alternative programs that give young peo- ple a second chance are a growing phenomena,”says U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. (3) “We need to develop more, higher-quality, alterna- tive programs than meet this rising demand. (4) Young people at risk should not just be left on their own to hang out on the street. (5) New attention needs to be paid to finding ways to encourage many more dropouts to drop back in to school so that they have a real chance at living a decent life. (6) When young people drop out, they do more than just give up their education, they are, too often, giv- ing up on themselves.” 29. Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage? a. Part 3: Remove the comma after more. b. Part 1: Insert a comma after statistics. c. Part 4: Change their to there. d. Part 3: Change than to that. 30. Which of the following numbered parts contains a run-on sentence? a. Part 5 b. Part 6 c. Part 1 d. Part 2 Questions 31 and 32 are based on the following passage. (1) Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by many African- Americans from December 26 through January 1. (2) It pays tribute to the rich cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry, and celebrates family, commu- nity, and culture, Kwanzaa means the first or the first fruits of the harvest and is based on the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebration. (3) The mod- ern holiday of Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at Callifornia State University in Long Beach, California. (4) The seven- day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in present day America. – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 51 31. Which of the following sentences would be the best topic sentence for a second paragraph on the same subject? a. The seven fundamental principles on which Kwanzaa is based are referred to as the Nguzo Saba. b. These rules consist of unity, self-determina- tion, collective work and responsibility, coop- erative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. c. Each of its seven candles represents a distinct principle beginning with unity, the center candle. d. Participants celebrate by performing rituals such as lighting the kinara. 32. Which of the following numbered parts in the passage contains a nonstandard sentence? a. Part 4 b. Part 3 c. Part 1 d. Part 2 Questions 33–35 are based on the following passage. (1) A metaphor is a poetic device that deals with comparison. (2) It compares similar qualities of two dissimilar objects. (3) With a simple metaphor, one object becomes the other: Love is a rose. Although this doesn’t sound like a particularly rich image, a metaphor can communicate so much about a par- ticular image, that poets utilize them more than any other type of figurative language. (4) The reason for this is that a poet composes poetry to express emotional experience. (5) S uccinctly, what the poet imagines love to be may or may not be our percep- tion of love. (6) Therefore, the poet’s job is to enable us to experience it and feel it the same way. (7) You should be able to nod in agreement and say, “Yes, that’s it! (8) I understand precisely where this guy is coming from.” 33. The tone of this passage is very formal; the last sentence is not. Which of the following would be more consistent with the tone of the passage? a. This guy is right on. b. I can relate to the poet’s experience. c. I know this feeling. d. This poem gets right to the point. 34. Which of the following numbered parts contains a nonstandard use of a pronoun? a. Part 3 b. Part 5 c. Part 6 d. Part 7 35. Which of the following adverbs should replace the underlined word in Part 5? a. Consequently b. Normally c. Occasionally d. Originally Questions 36–38 are based on the following passage. (1) If you have little time to care for your garden, be sure to select hardy plants, such as phlox, comfrey, and peonies. (2) These will, with only a little care, keep the garden brilliant with color all through the growing season. (3) Sturdy sunflowers and hardy species of roses are also good selections. (4) As a thrifty gardener, you should leave part of the garden free for the planting of herbs such as lavender, sage, thyme, and parsley. (5) If you have a moderate amount of time, growing vegetables and a garden culture of pears, apples, quinces, and other small fruits can be an interesting occupation, which amply rewards the care languished on it. (6) Even a small vegetable and fruit garden may yield radishes, celery, beans, and strawberries that will be delicious on the family table. (7) ________________________________. – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 52 (8) When planting seeds for the vegetable garden, you should be sure that they receive the proper amount of moisture, that they are sown at the right season to receive the right degree of heat, and that the seed is placed near enough to the surface to allow the young plant to reach the light easily. 36. Which of the following changes would best help to clarify the ideas in the first paragraph? a. Omit the phrase, with only a little care,from Part 2. b. Reverse the order of Parts 2 and 3. c. Add a sentence after Part 4 explaining why saving room for herbs is a sign of thrift in a gardener. d. Add a sentence about the ease of growing roses after Part 3. 37. Which of the following sentences, if inserted in the blank line numbered Part 7, would be most consistent with the writer’s development of ideas in the second paragraph? a. When and how you plant is important to pro- ducing a good yield from your garden. b. Very few gardening tasks are more fascinating than growing fruit trees. c. Of course, if you have saved room for an herb garden, you will be able to make the yield of your garden even more tasty by cooking with your own herbs. d. Growing a productive fruit garden may take some specialized and time-consuming research into proper grafting techniques. 38. Which of the following changes needs to be made in the passage? a. Part 8: Change sown to sewn. b. Part 5: Change languished to lavished. c. Part 2: Change through to threw. d. Part 8: Change surface to surfeit. Questions 39 and 40 are based on the following passage. This selection is from Willa Cather’s short story, “Neighbor Rosicky.” (1) On the day before Christmas the weather set in very cold; no snow, but a bitter, biting wind that whistled and sang over the flat land and lashed one’s face like fine wires. (2) There was baking going on in the Rosicky kitchen all day, and Rosicky sat inside, making over a coat that Albert had outgrown into an overcoat for John. (3) Mary’s big red geranium in bloom for Christmas, and a row of Jerusalem cherry trees, full of berries. (4) It was the first year she had ever grown these; Doctor Ed brung her the seeds from Omaha when he went to some medical con- vention. (5) They reminded Rosicky of plants he had seen in England; and all afternoon, as he stitched, he sat thinking about the two years in Lon- don, which his mind usually shrank from even after all this while. 39. Which of the following numbered parts uses a verb form incorrectly? a. Part 5 b. Part 2 c. Part 4 d. Part 3 40. Which of the following numbered parts contains a sentence fragment? a. Part 4 b. Part 3 c. Part 2 d. Part 5 – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 53 Section 3: Writing (Part B— Writing Sample) Carefully read the writing topic that follows, then pre- pare a multiple-paragraph writing sample of 300–600 words on that topic. Make sure your essay is well- organized and that you support your central argument with concrete examples. Bob Maynard has said that “Problems are opportu- nities in disguise.” Write an essay describing a time in your life when a problem became an opportunity. How did you transform the situation? Explain what you did to turn the problem into an opportunity and how others can benefit from your experience. – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 54 Answer Explanations Section 1: Reading 1. a. Choice b emphasizes only damage to the atmos- phere; the passage encompasses more than that. Choice c does not mention the atmosphere, which is the main focus of the passage. Choice d is too narrow—the final paragraph of the pas- sage emphasizes that the circulation of the atmosphere is but one example of the complex events that keeps the Earth alive. 2. c. Choice a is incorrect because the passage does not explain exactly what will happen as a result of damage to the atmosphere and other life- sustaining mechanisms. Choice b is incorrect because the passage does not explain the origin of the atmosphere. Choice d is incorrect because it is solar energy that travels 93 million miles through space, not the atmosphere. 3. b. The biosphere, as defined in the first paragraph, is a region (or part) of the Earth; it is not the envelope around the Earth, the living things on Earth, or the circulation of the atmosphere (choices a, c, and d). 4. d. Choice a deals with solar radiation, not with circulation of the atmosphere. Choice b is an assertion without specific supporting detail. Choice c describes how the atmosphere pro- tects Earth but does not speak of the circulation of the atmosphere. Only choice d explains that conditions would be unlivable at the equator and poles without the circulation of the atmos- phere; therefore, it is the best choice. 5. a. The second paragraph deals with how varia- tions in the strength with which solar radiation strikes the Earth affects temperature. None of the other choices is discussed in terms of all temperature changes on Earth. 6. a. There is no mention in the first paragraph of any reviving or cleansing effect the atmosphere may have (choices b and d). In a sense, enabling the Earth to sustain life is invigorating; however, choice a is a better choice because the first two sentences talk about how the atmosphere pro- tects the Earth from harmful forces. 7. b. Choice b includes the main points of the passage and is not too broad. Choice a features minor points from the passage. Choice c also features minor points, with the addition of History of the National Park system, which is not included in the passage. Choice d lists points that are not discussed in the passage. 8. d. The information in choices a, b, and c is not expressed in paragraph 4. 9. a. Reread the second sentence of paragraph 2. Choices b and c are mentioned in the passage but not as causing the islands; choice d is not mentioned in the passage. 10. c. Paragraph 5 discusses the visitors to Acadia National Park, whereas choices a, b, and d are not mentioned in the passage. 11. a. The first sentence of paragraph 3 states that the length of the Maine coastline is 2,500 miles. 12. b. The other choices could possibly be true, but only choice b fits in the context of the sentence that follows it, which describes the ruggedness of the coast and implies that the coast does not lie in a straight line. 13. d. The passage contains objective information about accounting such as one might find in a textbook. There is nothing new or newsworthy in it (choice a). The passage does not contain the significant amount of personal opinion one would expect to find in an essay (choice b). It does not deal with matters that might involve lit- igation (choice c). 14. d. The final sentence of the second paragraph emphasizes the importance of correct interpre- tation of financial accounting. Choice a is incor- rect because something so important would not be discretionary (optional). Choice b may be true, but it is not as important for guidelines to – THEA PRACTICE EXAM 1– 55 . the situation is resolved. 23. Which of the following numbered parts contains a sentence fragment? a. Part 4 b. Part 7 c. Part 3 d. Part 6 24. Which of the following is the best revision of the sentence. out, they do more than just give up their education, they are, too often, giv- ing up on themselves.” 29. Which of the following changes needs to be made to the passage? a. Part 3: Remove the. where this guy is coming from.” 33 . The tone of this passage is very formal; the last sentence is not. Which of the following would be more consistent with the tone of the passage? a. This guy is