Free Reading Comprehension Set II - 02 Practice Test - CAT 

Question 1

"You are kicking a boy as good as him out of the house for a tattoo –that says ‘Blessed,’ no less?”The above sentence from the story has a grammatical error. Which of the following correctly identifies this error?

A. ‘good’ should be ‘well’
B. ‘him’ should be ‘he’
C. 'Blessed' should be "Blessed"
D. ‘less’ should be ‘lest’

SOLUTION

Solution : B

The phrase who is as good as him is a subordinate clause. A subordinate clause requires the pronoun “he”, not “him”. The implied meaning of the phrase is “as good as he is”. “As good as him is” is grammatically incorrect.

Therefore (B) is correct.

Good is an adjective. It modifies nouns. Well is an adverb. It modifies verbs. Since him is a pronoun, it should be modified by an adjective, not an adverb. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Single quotation marks are appropriate for both a quote within a quote and a word that is not being used for its meaning. Since someone is being quoted and quoting the word tattooed on Justin, single quotes are appropriate. The emphasis is on the word Blessed,which is part of the quote. Therefore (C) is incorrect. The word lest means so that something will not happen. For example, We should get out of the rain lest we catch cold. This meaning does not make sense in the sentence. Therefore (D) is incorrect.

Question 2

Using the passage as a guide, which is the best interpretation of the idiom, "cut off your nose to spite your face," as used in the passage?

A. calling something bad that is not
B. trying to teach something too difficult
C. loving a person less for what he has done
D. pursuing revenge and hurting yourself in the process

SOLUTION

Solution : D

In given paragraph, Elaine’s father wonders why she would kick such a good boy out of the house. He says, “You will miss him so much. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, Elaine. Come pick this young man up.” Elaine has forced Justin out of the house even though it will hurt her. We can infer from this that the idiom cut off your nose to spite your face means pursuing revenge and hurting yourself in the process. Therefore (D) is correct. The story does not provide information to support answer choices (A), (B), or  (C). Therefore they are incorrect.

Question 3

As used in the story, which is the best antonym for cursory?

A. angry and wilful
B. fast and intelligent
C. slow and deliberate
D. slow and superficial

SOLUTION

Solution : C

cursory (adjective): quick; superficial; hasty. In paragraph , when the narrator gives the checklist from the newspaper a cursory glance, she skims over it quickly without really reading it carefully or paying attention to what it says. To read something slowly and deliberately would be the opposite of giving it merely a cursory glance. Therefore (C) is correct. Angry and wilful is not the opposite of quick. Therefore (A) is incorrect. Fast is more similar to cursory, while intelligent is unrelated. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Slow is the opposite of cursory, but superficial is a synonym. Therefore (D) is incorrect.

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the use of woollen curtain in this passage?

A. simile, meaning the direct comparison of two different things using “like” or “as.”
B. comic relief, meaning it offers humour in a tense situation.
C. personification, meaning something described as if it were human.
D. metaphorical

SOLUTION

Solution : A

When the narrator says, “The rain was as thick as a woollen curtain,” she is comparing the rain to a curtain by using a simile. Just as a woollen curtain is too thick to see through, the rain was so thick that it obscured the narrator’s view. Therefore (A) is correct.This line does not offer any humor. Therefore (B) is incorrect. Neither a woollen curtain nor the rain is described as human. Therefore (C) is incorrect.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the tone of author of this letter?

A. florid
B. genuine
C. hostile
D. obtuse

SOLUTION

Solution : B

Option (B)

Maria explains in the letter that closing the museum on Saturdays would create a hardship for Maria and other working people who can only enjoy the museum on Saturdays. Maria then offers a solution to the problem: the town could increase taxes on the residents to create enough revenue to keep the  museum open. Finally, Maria asks the people of the town to contact their  representatives to request more money so the museum can stay open on  Saturdays. Since Maria has explained her problem and offered solutions, it  can be inferred that Maria sincerely wants the museum to remain open on Saturdays. The tone of the letter is genuine. Therefore (B) is correct.

Question 6

As used in the passage,which is the best antonym for protracted?

A. curable
B. imagined
C. ridiculous
D. shortened

SOLUTION

Solution : D

Option (D)

protracted (adjective): prolonged; drawn out; lengthened. Maria writes,“I have just learned that our town’s public art museum will be eliminating Saturday hours next month due to a protracted budget shortfall.” Maria goes on to describe the shortfall as “continued.” The reader can infer from this that protracted means long or drawn out. The opposite of drawn out is shortened. Therefore (D) is correct.

Question 7

"For many working people like myself, Saturday is the only day of the week to take advantage of the breathtaking and thought-provoking artwork our museum has to offer."The above sentence has a grammatical error—what is it and how should it be corrected?

A. 'myself' should be ‘me’
B. 'like' should be ‘such as’
C. 'breathtaking' should be ‘breath taking’
D. 'has' should be ‘had’

SOLUTION

Solution : A

Option (A)

The pronoun myself is generally used reflexively as the direct or indirect object of a verb or as the object of a preposition: I pinched myself to see if I was awake. Sometimes, it is used as emphasis: I myself thought it was a good idea. Use of myself is not appropriate if it does not refer to the subject of the sentence. Here, Saturday is the subject of the sentence. Myself does not refer to the subject of the sentence. Therefore (A) is correct.

Question 8

How might this type of writing best be described?

A. comparative, meaning demonstrates the similarities and differences between two topics
B. instructive, meaning it teaches how to do something
C. persuasive, meaning it aims to change one’s feelings about something
D. narrative, meaning it tells a story via a sequence of events

SOLUTION

Solution : C

Option (C)

Maria begins her letter with a statement that closing the museum on Saturdays will cause her and others hardship. Maria then goes on to describe the many positive effects the museum has had on the town. Maria next states that additional taxes are merited for keeping the museum open on Saturdays. Maria urges the readers to help the museum get this funding. What Maria wants is for the reader to support additional tax revenue for keeping the museum open on Saturdays. Maria attempts to convince the reader to support this cause by showing the reader how great the museum is and how much of a hardship it would cause to close the museum on Saturdays. Maria wants to persuade the readers to support her cause. Therefore (C) is correct.

Question 9

At the end of the letter Maria asks, “Isn’t our museum worth it?” What does the word it in the above sentence refer to?

A. The townspeople contacting their town representatives
B. Staying open on Saturdays
C. An increase in homeowners’ tax bills
D. Lengthening the budget shortfall

SOLUTION

Solution : C

Option (C)

At the end of the letter, Maria writes,“the increase of—for all intents and purposes—a nearly inconsequential amount to the homeowner tax bill would suffice to keep the museum open. Isn’t the museum worth it?” The reader can  infer from this that Maria believes keeping the museum open on Saturdays is worth an increase in taxes. Therefore (C) is correct.

Question 10

According to the passage, which of the following statements is/are true? I) Ninety-seven percent of snow is made of salt water. II) The largest cause of preventable human death is drinking water that is unsanitary.. III) About 1,000,000,000 people in the world do not have clean water to drink.

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D. II and III only

SOLUTION

Solution : D

Option (D)

I) Incorrect. While line 3 states that 97% of the world’s water is salty, there is no information in the passage concerning the amount of salt, if any, in snow.

II) Correct. Passage states that the largest cause of preventable human death is drinking water that is unsanitary. Unsanitary means not clean.

III) Correct. Passage states that one billion people in the world do not have clean drinking water. One billion is the written form of the number 1,000,000,000.

Question 11

What is the main idea of the first paragraph?

A. Fresh water is necessary for life.
B. Most water in the world is salt water.
C. Water is the most common liquid in the world.
D. People cannot drink most of the world’s water.

SOLUTION

Solution : C

Option (C)

a) Incorrect. While the last paragraph states that water is necessary for life, this information is not given in the first paragraph.

b) Incorrect. While line 3 states that most of the world’s water is salt water, this is not the main idea of the paragraph.

c) Correct. The first sentence of the paragraph states that water is the most common liquid in the world. Lines 2-4 expand that idea. Therefore, it is the main idea of the paragraph.

d) Incorrect. While it is true that people do not drink salt water, and it is true that 97% of the world’s water is saltwater, as stated in line 3, this information is not stated in paragraph

Question 12

In the last line, unsanitary most closely means-

A. not available
B. not clean
C. not in liquid form
D. used for another purpose

SOLUTION

Solution : B

Option (B)

Unsanitary water is not clean.Unsanitary-the word means uncleanliness and it fits in this situation as well.

Question 13

 According to the passage, which of the following statements is/are true?
I) Two braking systems are used in most hybrid vehicles.
II) Approximately 30% of vehicles on the road are hybrid vehicles.
III) Some HEVs have engines which turn off when the vehicle is not moving.

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D. I and II only

SOLUTION

Solution : C

The correct answer is C.

I) Incorrect. According to the passage, “A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle which uses two or more kinds of propulsion,” not braking systems.

II) Incorrect. While the passage states “Hybrid vehicles save up to 30% of the fuel used in conventional vehicles,” there is no mention of the percentage of hybrid vehicles on the road.

III) Correct. Some HEVs have engines which turn off when the vehicle is not moving- “When the vehicle is in idle, the engine temporarily turns off”

Question 14

According to the passage, HEVs use two types of propulsion mainly in order to

A. go faster.
B. use gasoline efficiently.
C. provide a comfortable ride.
D. provide a safe driving experience.

SOLUTION

Solution : B

The correct answer is B.

According to the passage, “the main purpose of using a hybrid system is to efficiently use resources,” and the author also mentions that “hybrid vehicles use less gasoline,” and since the fuel source, or resource, of conventional vehicles is gasoline, this is the correct answer.

Question 15

 In the context of the passage, which of the following best articulates how the author regards the topic?

A. Conventional vehicles may be more powerful than hybrid vehicles, but hybrid vehicles are the more ‘socially responsible’ vehicles to operate.
B. Since hybrid vehicles use less gasoline and put fewer emissions into the atmosphere than conventional vehicles, they are better for drivers and for the environment.
C. Conventional vehicles are faster than hybrid vehicles, but hybrid vehicles are better for the environment than conventional vehicles.
D. Since hybrid vehicles are much less expensive to purchase and operate than conventional vehicles, they are a smarter buy than conventional vehicles.

SOLUTION

Solution : B

The correct answer is B.

In the last paragraph, the author make these points-“Since hybrid vehicles use less gasoline than conventional vehicles, they put fewer emissions into the atmosphere than conventional vehicles do.” “Hybrid vehicles are an example of an energy–efficient technology that is good for both consumers and the environment”

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