Reading Comprehension Questions - Birmingham City Schools

501

Reading Comprehension Questions

OTHER TITLES OF INTEREST FROM LEARNINGEXPRESS

501 Grammar and Writing Questions 501 Critical Reading Questions

501 Sentence Completion Questions 501 Word Analogy Questions

Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day

501

Reading Comprehension Questions

4th Edition

? NEW YORK

Copyright ? 2010 LearningExpress, LLC.

All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York.

Library of Congress Cataliging-in-Publication Data: 501 reading comprehension questions. -- 4th ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-57685-747-2 1. Reading comprehension--Problems, exercises, etc. I. LearningExpress (Organization)

II. Title: Five hundred one reading comprehension questions. III. Title: Five hundred and one reading comprehension questions. LB1050.45.A15 2010 372.47--dc22

2009032221

Printed in the United States of America

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Fourth Edition

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Contents

Introduction

vii

Chapter 1 Vocabulary

1

Chapter 2 Analogies

19

Chapter 3 Main Ideas, Themes

31

Chapter 4 Topic Sentences

39

Chapter 5 Short Passages

49

Chapter 6 Nonfiction and Information Passages 87

Chapter 7 Reading Charts and Graphs,

Understanding Directions

127

Chapter 8 Analyzing and Interpreting Poems

147

Chapter 9 Philosophy and Literature

161

Chapter 10 Longer Passages

171

v

Introduction

Are you having trouble with reading comprehension questions on tests? Do you want to know how to improve your reading ability or pass placement tests in school or work? If so, then this book is for you. Read on to find out why.

Maybe you already like to read and want to use this book to sharpen your skills for an important test. If so, that's fine. In fact, you can skip this part of the Introduction--or skip the Introduction entirely--and go straight to the questions.

But maybe you're one of the millions of people who have trouble with reading, especially with reading carefully while reading quickly. If so, this Introduction will give you some direction.

First, know that you're not alone. It's a fact that some people relate more easily to numbers or to working with their hands. Still, no other general skill is used more regularly--in work, play, and just plain living--than reading. The good news is that reading well is a skill that can be developed with practice. This book will help, but something else will help even more: If you're serious about developing your reading comprehension skills, go to the library or a bookstore and pick out books on subjects you find fascinating.

For instance, if your interests are in skydiving, biking, golf, scuba diving, race cars, camping, woodworking, or even the stock market, use that as a

vii

501 Reading Comprehension Questions

starting point, and choose a book. The subject will undoubtedly draw you in because you are already interested. Begin to read. You will find that as you focus on the subject matter, you will already know some of the information. But chances are you will discover something new as you read, and you can connect this with your prior knowledge. Eventually, your store of information becomes quite admirable. Repeat the process over and over again. As you do, you will improve your reading comprehension skills, and it won't even seem like a chore.

A Look at Our Book

The first five sections cover the basics--from vocabulary to topic sentences. 501 Reading Comprehension Questions, 4th Edition begins with vocabulary because that's what you need to read--the essential building blocks. You will find vocabulary questions that test your ability to find definitions and context clues. Next, the analogy questions take you a step further. When answering analogy questions, you will learn to develop your ability to compare and contrast, find similarities and differences, and relate parts to whole pieces. Just in case you're wondering why this is important, you should know that the skills you develop from these short exercises in word play will assist you when you are reading longer passages.

As the book progresses, you will be asked to read short, interesting paragraphs to find main ideas and topic sentences. Once you are comfortable with these basic skills, proceed to the passages in the last five sections. This is where you will use your skills to tackle longer passages.

The last five sections begin with one- to two-paragraph passages. Questions following these passages ask you to identify details and facts, choose the main idea, make inferences, or analyze and interpret the text. The passages, both fiction and nonfiction, get longer as you progress through the book, and they all have varied subjects.

Some are about computers, geology, or geography, while others are about poems, philosophy, literature, or art. You will even find some charts and graphs. You may want to take notes as you read. This technique of interacting with the text is good to use anytime you read or when you take a test that includes reading comprehension.

The answers to every question are at the back of the book. Each answer is fully explained, so if you have trouble with a particular question, you will be able to figure out how to arrive at the correct answer.

viii

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