SSAT Reading Comprehension Sample Test 3
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Read each passage carefully and then answer the questions about it. For each question, decide on the basis of the passage which one of the choices best answers the question. You have 40 minutes to complete the test.
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passage 1
Questions 1-5
After leaving College, and while studying Divinity, Emerson employed a part of his time in giving instruction in several places successively. Emerson's older brother William was teaching in Boston, and Ralph Waldo, after graduating, joined him in that occupation.
In the year 1825 or 1826, he taught school also in Chelmsford, a town of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, a part of which helped to constitute the city of Lowell.
One of his pupils in that school, the Honorable Josiah Gardiner Abbott, has favored me with the following account of his recollections.
The school of which Mr. Emerson had the charge was an old-fashioned country "Academy." Mr. Emerson was probably studying for the ministry while teaching there. Judge Abbott remembers the impression he made on the boys. He was very grave, quiet, and very impressive in his appearance.
There was something engaging, almost fascinating, about him; he was never harsh or severe, always perfectly self-controlled, never punished except with words, but exercised complete command over the boys.
His old pupil recalls the stately, measured way in which, for some offence the little boy had committed, he turned on him, saying only these two words:
"Oh, sad!"
That was enough, for he had the faculty of making the boys love him. One of his modes of instruction was to give the boys a piece of reading to carry home with them, -- from some book like Plutarch's Lives, -- and the next day to examine them and find out how much they retained from their reading.
Judge Abbott remembers a peculiar look in his eyes, as if he saw something beyond what seemed to be in the field of vision. The whole impression left on this pupil's mind was such as no other teacher had ever produced upon him.
[question text="The primary purpose of this passage is to: " answers="reminisce about Ralph Waldo Emerson's childhood#analyze the behaviours and qualities of stern teachers#criticize Emerson's choice of profession#*briefly discuss what made Ralph Waldo Emerson an effective educator#suggest that Judge Abott's success in life is the result of having many excellent teachers "]
[question text="The author states that he received his information about Emerson's teaching style from: " answers="William Emerson, Ralph Waldo's older brother#*a former student of Ralph Waldo Emerson#reading a biography on Emerson#Ralph Waldo Emerson#an anonymous source "]
[question text="It can be inferred from the passage that the "old-fashioned" country Academy: " answers="enforced a strong moral code of conduct#was well respected by the town folk#had a limited teaching staff#did not have access to a number of resources#*was an all boys school "]
[question text="Which of the following would be uncharacteristic of Emerson? " answers="Offering a struggling student extra assistance#Giving his class a surprise quiz#*Mocking a student for a poor test score#Assigning homework#Sitting down to read a book "]
[question text="The author's tone towards Emerson can best be described as: " answers="belligerent#impatient#*admiring#modest#disinterested "]
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passage 2
Questions 6 - 11
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that thenation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
[question text="As used in the first sentence, 'our fathers' refers to: " answers="*patriotic ancestors of the past who fought for the nation's ideals and mission#the brave soldiers who died during the Battle of Gettysburg#a new generation on the verge of bringing a new perspective to history#a supernatural Divinity considered the guardian and protector of all people#political activists and government officials of the last several years "]
[question text="According to the passage, the country is: " answers="fighting in vain#*engaged in a great civil war#mourning the loss of many innocent civilians#expected to fall into a great depression#in need of more supplies and troops "]
[question text="It can be inferred that the speaker is giving this speech: " answers="to a crowd of over ten thousand people#with the opposition close at hand#prior to the unveiling of a war memorial#from a remote location#*at the dedication of a national cemetery "]
[question text="The speaker would most likely agree with which of the following? " answers="Character is doing what's right when nobody is looking.#*Actions are far more memorable than words.#Victory comes when it is least expected.#No good comes from war.#The simple pleasures of life are the most meaningful. "]
[question text="The tone of the passage can best be described as: " answers="*resolute#ambivalent#arrogant#contrite#bitter "]
[question text="As used in line 8, the word 'consecrate' most closely means: " answers="make fertile#completely overlook#tear apart#*make sacred#build from scratch "]
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passage 3
Questions 12 - 17
A new theory has been broached to explain the migrations of the Norway lemming, a variety of field mouse. Every few years an immense body of these animals leave their habitat and proceed westward, attacking every obstacle in front in preference to flanking it, until it reaches the sea, which the little animals boldly enter, only to perish there. No conceivable advantage to the lemming is known to have ever resulted from these long and arduous marches. The losses in swimming large rivers, from fire, the attacks of predatory animals, hunger,and fatigue, are so great that but few reach the sea, and the remnant always perish there.
Mr. W. Duppa, who has studied the habits of these animals for ten years, now suggests that they are moved by an hereditary instinct, and that their prehistoric home was some country west of Sweden, and now covered by the Atlantic.
According to him, says "Nature," the migration is not all completed in one year, as formerly supposed, nor do they, as stated, form processions and cut their way through obstacles; but, breeding several times in the season, they gather in batches, and at intervals make a move westward. Their pugnacity, he states, is astonishing, and the approach of any animal, or even the shadow of a cloud, arouses the anger of this small creature like a guinea pig, and they back against a stone or rock uttering shrill defiance. Our author found, in most examples, a bare patch on the rump, due to their rubbing against the said buttress of support when at bay. He wonders why a bare patch, and not a callosity, should not result from this innate, apparently hereditary habit.
[question text="The main idea expressed in the passage is that: " answers="researchers are making great strides in understanding lemming behaviour#field mice are a relatively unexplored phenomena of nature#the curious behaviour of lemmings supports Darwin's theory of evolution#lemmings are unlike any other creature on earth#*the westward journey of the lemming is shrouded in mystery "]
[question text="As used in line 5, the word "perish" most closely means: " answers="rest#linger#*die#prevail#flounder "]
[question text="According to the passage, lemmings may experience all of the following on their journey EXCEPT: " answers="*disease#predators#death#malnourishment#fatigue "]
[question text="The author implies that lemmings are most fascinating because they: " answers="migrate westward#are desperately afraid of water#travel in intervals and groups#*tenaciously seek out their death#live longer than most rodents "]
[question text="Mr. Duppa believes that the lemmings' journey towards the sea is: " answers="necessary#questionable#unfathomable#pointless#*instinctual "]
[question text=" Mr. Duppa is probably a(n): " answers="opthamologist#ornithologist#*rodentologist#paleontologist#etymologist "]
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passage 4
Questions 18 - 23
In America I am sure the papers are printing too much miscellaneous reading. The perusal of this smattering of everything, these scraps of information and snatches of literature, this infinite variety and medley, in which no subject is adequately treated, is distracting and debilitating to the mind. It prevents the reading of anything in full, and its satisfactory assimilation.
It is said that the majority of Americans read nothing except the paper. If they read that thoroughly, they have time for nothing else. What is its reader to do when his journal thrusts upon him every day the amount contained in a fair-sized duodecimo volume, and on Sundays the amount of two of them?
Granted that this miscellaneous hodge-podge is the cream of current literature, is it profitable to the reader? Is it a means of anything but superficial culture and fragmentary information? Besides, it stimulates an unnatural appetite, a liking for the striking, the brilliant, the sensational only; for our selections from current literature are, usually the "plums"; and plums are not a wholesome-diet for anybody. A person accustomed to this finds it difficult to sit down patiently to the mastery of a book or a subject, to the study of history, the perusal of extended biography, or to acquire that intellectual development and strength which comes from thorough reading and reflection.
[question text="The best title for this passage is: " answers="Beware of Newspapers#An Illiterate Culture#Living for the Spectacular#News from Home#*Newspapers Rot the Mind "]
[question text="According to the author, reading the newspaper is most dangerous because: " answers="people are influenced by what they read in them#editors do not take responsibility for their opinions#*newspapers solicit fragmented information and focus on the sensational#newspapers neglect serious subjects and lack thorough research#students find studying and reading textbooks boring in comparison "]
[question text="The author implies that the primary difference between newspapers and good literature is that good literature: " answers="contains a medley of different perspectives and opinions.#can be found on the shelves of any reputable library.#merges fact and fiction to both instruct and amuse its reader.#*gives comprehensive information on a particular subject.#bears the name of a distinguished author. "]
[question text="Which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with? " answers="A man must read many books before calling himself wise.#Newspapers are written to appeal to the masses.#Good writing is a thing of the past.#The mind is a muscle and must be exercised regularly.#*Being inundated with bits of exciting information hinders concentration. "]
[question text="The author's tone can best be described as: " answers="amused#*convinced#hopeless#nostalgic#disgruntled "]
[question text="The author refers to the newspaper as all of the following EXCEPT: " answers="a smattering of everything#*the cream of the crop#scraps of information#miscellaneous hodge-podge#a medley "]
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passage 5
Questions 24 - 29
I was sent to school early--more, I fancy, to get me out of the way for a good part of the day, than from any expectation that I would learn much. It took a long time to hammer the alphabet into my head. But if I was dull at school, I was noisy and mischievous enough at home, and very fond of tormenting my sisters. Hence, my parents--and no child ever had better ones--could not be blamed very much if they did send me to school for no other reason than to be rid of me.
The schoolhouse was close at hand, and its aspect is deeply graven in my memory. My first schoolmaster was an Englishman who had seen better days. He was a good scholar, I believe, but a poor teacher.
I next sat under the rod of an Irish pedagogue--an old man who evidently believed that the only way to get anything into a boy's head was to pound it in with a stick through his back. There was no discipline, and the noise we made seemed to rival a Bedlam. We used to play all sorts of tricks on the old man, and I was not behind in contriving or carrying them into execution.
One day, however, I was caught and severely thrashed. This so mortified me that I jumped out of the window and went home. An investigation followed, and I was whipped by my father and sent back. Poor old Dominic, he has long since put by his stick, and passed beyond the reach of unruly boys. Thus I passed on from teacher to teacher, staying at home in the summer, and resuming my books again in the winter.
[question text="When describing himself as a young student, the speaker implies that he: " answers="*had difficultly learning#struggled to make friends#was anxious to learn#sat in the front row#only went to school to get away from his parents "]
[question text="The speaker's main purpose in the passage is to: " answers="describe the conduct of his old school masters#account for his poor performance in school#thank his parents for all their patience#*paint a portrait of his childhood#explain why he was mischievous "]
[question text="As used in line 15, the word 'contriving' most closely means: " answers="inspecting#supporting#reacting#advancing#*plotting "]
[question text="Which of the following can be inferred about the speaker? " answers="*He understands that he caused his parents stress and heartache.#He never graduated.#He disliked going to school.#He is an only child.#He lived on a farm. "]
[question text="When discussing his schoolmasters, the speaker suggests that: " answers="their classrooms were not heated.#*physical discipline was a common practice.#they only taught English and math.#their classrooms were very large in size.#they were strict but very good. "]
[question text="According to the passage, the speaker's memory is engraved with: " answers="a realistic portrait of his first teacher#the day he jumped out of his school window#*the appearance and characteristics of his schoolhouse#the grief he caused his parents#the letters of the alphabet "]
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passage 6
Questions 30 - 34
The cirrus occurs in very great variety, and in some states of the air is constantly changing. It is the first cloud that appears in serene weather, and is always at a great height. The first traces of the cirrus are some fine whitish threads, delicately - penciled on a clear blue sky; and as they increase in length others frequently appear at the sides, until numerous branches are formed, extending in all directions. Sometimes these lines cross each other and form a sort of delicate net - work.
In dry weather the cirrus is sharp, defined, and fibrous in texture, the lines vanishing off in fine points. When the air is damp this cloud may be seen in the in
tervals of rain, but is not well defined, and the lines are much less fibrous. Such cirri as these often grow into other varieties of cloud, and are frequently followed by rain.
The cirrus may last a few minutes only, or continue for hours. Its duration is shortest when near other clouds. Although it appears to be stationary, it has some connexion with the motions of the atmosphere; for whenever, in fair weather, light variable breezes prevail, cirri are generally present. When they appear in wet weather, they quickly pass into the cirro - stratus.
According to Dalton, these clouds are from three to five miles above the earth’s surface.
When viewed from the summits of the highest mountains they appear as distant as from the plains. Another proof of their great height is, their continuing to be tinged by the sun’s rays in the evening twilight with the most vivid colours, while the denser clouds are in the deepest shade.
[question text="The primary purpose of this passage is to: " answers="give a scientific explanation on the formation of the cirrus#*provide general information about the thin, wispy cloud that appears on calm days#compare the cirrus to other less fibrous types of clouds#clear up the many myths and fallacies that hover in the stratosphere.#summarize Dalton's research and findings on the cirrus "]
[question text="The appearance of the cirrus cloud may best be compared to a(n): " answers="spider web#marble statue#spool of thread#*root system#field of corn "]
[question text="A cirrus cloud that appears undefined and has less fibrous lines generally means: " answers="*it will soon rain.#a thunderstorm is close at hand.#the sun is beginning to set.#the cloud is being pushed by the motions in the atmosphere.#it is no longer three to five miles above the earth's surface "]
[question text="According to the passage, there is no way to tell: " answers="how a cirrus cloud reacts around other clouds#when a cirrus cloud is most likely to appear in the sky#*how long a cirrus cloud will last#how high a cirrus cloud floats in the sky#how cirrus clouds are formed "]
[question text="The style of the passage can best be described as: " answers="descriptive#verbose#convoluted#persuasive#*objective "]
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passage 7
Questions 35 - 40
I heartily thank you for the privilege of reading the manuscript of your Narrative. I have read it with deep interest and strong emotion. I am much mistaken if it be not greatly successful and eminently useful. It presents a different phase of the infernal slave-system from that portrayed in the admirable story of Mr. Douglass, and gives us a glimpse of its hideous cruelties in other portions of its domain. Your opportunities of observing the workings of this accursed system have been singularly great.
Your experiences in the Field, in the House, and especially on the River in the service of the slave-trader, Walker, have been such as few individuals have had;--no one, certainly, who has been competent to describe them. What I have admired, and marveled at, in your Narrative, is the simplicity and calmness with which you describe scenes and actions which might well "move the very stones to rise and mutiny" against the National Institution which makes them possible. You will perceive that I have made very sparing use of your flattering permission to alter what you had written. To correct a few errors, which appeared to be merely clerical ones, committed in the hurry of composition, under unfavorable circumstances, and to suggest a few curtailments, is all that I have ventured to do. I should be a bold man, as well as a vain one, if I should attempt to improve your descriptions of what you have seen and suffered. Some of the scenes are not unworthy of Defoe himself.
I trust and believe that your Narrative will have a wide circulation. I am sure it deserves it. At least, a man must be differently constituted from me, who can rise from the perusal of your Narrative without feeling that he understands slavery better, and hates it worse, than he ever did before.
I am, very faithfully and respectfully,
Your Friend
[question text="It can be inferred that this letter is written by a(n): " answers="soldier to his lieutenant#diplomat to his friend#slave owner to his master#*editor to a slave abolitionist#writer to a publisher "]
[question text="Which of the following statement(s) is true of the author? I. He does not believe he is in a position to alter the content of the manuscript. II. The manuscript made the horrors of slavery more real to him. III. He understands what it feels like to be a slave. " answers="I only.#II only.#*I & II#II & III#I, II & III "]
[question text="The tone of the letter can best be described as: " answers="apathetic#contrite#insincere#accusatory#*passionate "]
[question text="The author implies that many people: " answers="dislike questioning the slave-system#choose not to read slave narratives#*are not aware of the hideous cruelty with which slaves are treated#would prefer to read Mr. Douglass' story#believe the slave-system is highly lucrative and therefore beneficial "]
[question text="As used in line 2, the word 'eminently' most closely means: " answers="*to a great degree#unknowingly#about to happen#on the verge of extinction#ready to dismount "]
[question text="The author states that he is impressed by the manuscript because of its: " answers="strong emotion#*simplicity and calmness#embellished style#theatrical elements#minimal number of error "]
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