Reading comprehension success_2 ppsx

42. The narrator attributes her inability to sleep when staying at her father’s house to a. thinking about a disagreement with someone. b. the uncomfortable quiet of an early Sunday morning. c. the sore throat she had from shouting so much. d. her accident with the car. 43. The first-person point of view in this story a. obscures how the narrator’s mind works. b. illustrates the thoughts and personality of the narrator. c. makes the narrator seem distant and rigid. d. gives us direct access to the minds of all the characters. 44. When the narrator says she sometimes “take[s] the prize for a grade-A dork,” the word choice is intended to indicate a. that she doesn’t know proper English. b. her age and culture. c. that she is unable to judge her own actions. d. that she thinks she’s better than most others who might be termed “dorks”. 45. From the context in the last sentence of the passage, it can be determined that the word “perseverance” most nearly means a. attractiveness. b. thinking ability. c. ability to persist. d. love of danger. 46. Overall, this narrator’s tone is best described as a. emotional and familiar. b. stuck up and superior. c. argumentative and tactless. d. pleasant and reassuring. 47. In choosing to use the bike argument with her mother, the narrator is trying to appeal to her mother’s a. compassion over her lost bike. b. disregard for material objects. c. laziness. d. reason. 48. The main argument the narrator has been having with her mother is over whether she should a. be allowed to date. b. live with her mother or father. c. be allowed to drive a car. d. pay for things she breaks. 49. It appears that the mother has alienated her daughter by a. being too busy to give her the attention she needs. b. having divorced her father. c. insisting too much on reasonableness. d. valuing things over people and feelings. 50. What most likely happened with the car? a. The narrator mistook first gear for reverse and ran into the garage wall. b. The narrator stole it from her father and drove it over to her mother’s. c. The father left it in gear, and when the narra- tor started it, it leapt forward into the wall. d. The narrator attempted suicide through carbon monoxide poisoning. – PRETEST– 15  Answer Key If you miss any of the answers, you can find help for that kind of question in the lesson(s) shown to the right of the answer. – PRETEST– 16 1. c. Lesson 1 2. a. Lesson 1 3. d. Lesson 9 4. a. Lesson 16 5. b. Lesson 3 6. c. Lesson 12 7. c. Lesson 2 8. b. Lessons 6 and 7 9. a. Lesson 3 10. b. Lesson 8 11. d. Lesson 4 12. c. Lesson 17 13. d. Lesson 2 14. b. Lesson 8 15. c. Lesson 4 16. b. Lesson 13 17. a. Lesson 19 18. d. Lesson 3 19. c. Lesson 8 20. c. Lesson 19 21. b. Lesson 19 22. a. Lesson 16 23. c. Lesson 13 24. a. Lesson 14 25. b. Lesson 11 26. d. Lesson 9 27. c. Lesson 1 28. a. Lessons 6 and 10 29. d. Lesson 3 30. d. Lesson 6 31. b. Lesson 18 32. c. Lesson 2 33. c. Lesson 12 34. a. Lesson 12 35. b. Lesson 13 36. a. Lesson 11 37. c. Lesson 2 38. c. Lesson 4 39. d. Lesson 3 40. c. Lessons 6, 7, and 10 41. d. Lesson 8 42. a. Lesson 9 43. b. Lesson 11 44. b. Lesson 12 45. c. Lesson 3 46. a. Lesson 14 47. d. Lesson 18 48. b. Lesson 16 49. d. Lesson 17 50. a. Lesson 17 17 Building a Strong Foundation Y ou may not have thought of it this way before, but critical readers are a lot like crime scene investigators. In their search for the truth, they do not let opin- ions sway them; they want to know what actually happened. They collect tan- gible evidence and facts and use this information to draw an informed conclusion. Separating fact from opinion is essential during a crime scene investigation. It is also a cru- cial skill for effective reading. When you read, look for clues to understand the author’s meaning. What is this pas- sage about? What is this writer saying? What is his or her message? At times, it may seem like authors are trying to hide their meaning from you. But no matter how complex a piece of writing may be, the author always leaves plenty of clues for the careful reader to find. It is your job to find those clues. Be a good detective when you read. Open your eyes and ask the right questions. In other words, read carefully and actively. The five lessons that follow cover the basics of reading comprehension. By the end of this section, you should be able to: ■ Find the basic facts in a passage ■ Determine the main idea of a passage ■ Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words from context ■ Distinguish between fact and opinion [...]... carefully and ask the right questions (who, what, when, where, how, and why), you’re on your way to really comprehending what you read Active reading is the first essential step to comprehension Why? Because active reading forces you to really see what you’re reading, to look closely at what’s there Skill Building until Next Time Here are some suggestions for practicing the skills covered in this chapter... if you’re reading on the bus), you almost certainly won’t be able to look up words you don’t know Instead, you can use the context to help you determine the meaning S ometimes in your reading, you come across words or phrases that are unfamiliar to you You might be lucky and have a dictionary handy to look up that word or phrase, but what if you don’t? How can you understand what you’re reading if... stutter Summar y 7 Overt means a embarrassing, awkward b subtle, suggestive c obvious, not hidden The ability to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context is an essential skill for reading comprehension Sometimes, there will be unfamiliar words whose meaning you can’t determine without a dictionary But more often than not, a careful look at the context will give you enough clues to meaning... reading and writing skills because they have a limited vocabulary The more words you know, the easier it will be to understand what others are saying and to express what you have to say By writing down these new words, you’ll help seal them in your memory 37 L E S S O N 4 The Difference between Fact and Opinion LESSON SUMMARY To make sense of what you read, you must be able to tell whether you’re reading. .. distinguish what someone knows for certain from what someone believes W hat’s the difference between fact and opinion, and what does it matter, anyway? It matters a great deal, especially when it comes to reading comprehension During your life, you’ll be exposed to a wide variety of literature, ranging from analytical articles based on cold hard facts to fictional novels that arise wholly from the author’s imagination... must be general enough to encompass all the ideas in that passage, and it usually makes an assertion about the subject of that passage Knowing all that, you can answer the following question even without reading a passage Which sentence did you underline? You should have underlined the last sentence: “Long before they are faced with that question ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ some lucky people... to send urgent mail b Mail service today is more effective and dependable c First-class mail usually takes three days or less You might be asked on a standardized test, “What is the main idea of this reading? ” For this passage, you might be tempted to answer: “the post office.” But you’d be wrong This passage is about the post office, yes—but “the post office” is not the main idea of the passage “The... other network programs, it tells you that they are popular, and it tells you that they are earning millions of dollars in advertising revenue All these clues would indicate that reality TV shows are spreading and growing in number, not shrinking or declining Hence, the meaning of proliferate must be c, “increase, spread at a rapid rate.” 5 In the passage, adversely most nearly means a mildly, slightly . Lesson 2 14. b. Lesson 8 15. c. Lesson 4 16. b. Lesson 13 17. a. Lesson 19 18. d. Lesson 3 19. c. Lesson 8 20 . c. Lesson 19 21 . b. Lesson 19 22 . a. Lesson 16 23 . c. Lesson 13 24 . a. Lesson 14 25 14 25 . b. Lesson 11 26 . d. Lesson 9 27 . c. Lesson 1 28 . a. Lessons 6 and 10 29 . d. Lesson 3 30. d. Lesson 6 31. b. Lesson 18 32. c. Lesson 2 33. c. Lesson 12 34. a. Lesson 12 35. b. Lesson 13 36 PRETEST– 16 1. c. Lesson 1 2. a. Lesson 1 3. d. Lesson 9 4. a. Lesson 16 5. b. Lesson 3 6. c. Lesson 12 7. c. Lesson 2 8. b. Lessons 6 and 7 9. a. Lesson 3 10. b. Lesson 8 11. d. Lesson 4 12. c. Lesson 17 13.