Chapter 8
IN THIS CHAPTER
Trying out types of questions
Looking at proven techniques for a better score
Getting a handle on practice questions
The Paragraph Comprehension subtest has the fewest questions of any of the ASVAB subtests. However, it’s one of the most important subtests of the ASVAB. The military uses this test (along with the Word Knowledge subtest; see Chapters 5 and 6) to compute your verbal expression (VE) score, which in turn is an important part of your AFQT score. (If you want to see how these scores combine, turn to Chapter 2.)
This subtest is nothing more than a reading comprehension test, much like many of the reading tests you took in school. You’re asked to read a short passage (a paragraph) and then answer one to four questions about information contained in that paragraph. Unfortunately, you probably won’t find the reading to be very interesting. No passages from Harry Potter or about spacemen shooting ray guns here. You’re more likely to read about the corn crop harvest rates in Nebraska or the principles of time management. The key is to stay focused. After all, you have to answer only 11 or 15 questions, depending on your version of the test, and the paragraphs aren’t that long.
The Paragraph Comprehension subtest requires you to read a short paragraph and then answer one or more multiple-choice questions about what you’ve read. These questions can generally be broken down into one of four types, which I like to call the treasure hunt, getting the point, dictionary, and deep thinking.
Treasure hunt questions require you to find specific information within the paragraph. The good thing about this type of question is that by employing the scanning techniques in Chapter 7, you can often find the answer without having to read the entire paragraph. Try the following example:
How many people were arrested for DUI more than once between 2002 and 2007?
(A) 930,000
(B) 195,300
(C) 210,000
(D) None of the above
By letting your eyes quickly scan the paragraph, you notice that all the large numbers are contained in the middle. If you stop and read the two sentences that include large numbers, you find the answer to the question: Choice (B).
Sometimes the answer isn’t so obvious, and you have to dig a little deeper to find the treasure. Take the following question, for example:
How old was George Custer at the end of the Civil War?
(A) 24
(B) 25
(C) 26
(D) 34
The answer is still right there in the paragraph, but you have to use a little judgment (and math) to find it. General Custer was born on December 5, 1839 (which you can find in the first sentence) and the Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 (which the last sentence tells you). Therefore, Custer was 25 years old, Choice (B), at the end of the war. (He didn’t turn 26 until December of that year.)
This type of question asks you to discern the main topic, point, or idea of the paragraph (see Chapter 7 for more information). When you look for the main point, skimming the paragraph rather than reading it in its entirety is often helpful (see Chapter 7). Try this one on for size:
What is the main point of the passage?
(A) The farmers’ market has reopened.
(B) Children like playing Frisbee.
(C) Spring had come to town.
(D) Shoppers were chatting.
In this paragraph, you may think that the farmers’ market reopening is the main point, but the other information about the temperature and the kids playing Frisbee tells you that the main idea is something a bit broader than the market opening. The main idea is stated in the last sentence: “Finally, spring had come to town.” Therefore, Choice (C) is the correct answer.
Much like the Word Knowledge subtest (covered in Chapters 5 and 6), this type of question requires you to define a word as used in the context of the passage. The correct definition that the question is looking for can be the most common meaning of the word, or it can be a less well-known meaning of the word.
In either case, you have to read the passage, make sure you understand how the word is being used, and select the answer option that is closest in meaning to the word as it’s used in the passage. Consider this example:
In this passage, pressed means
(A) hired.
(B) ironed.
(C) enticed.
(D) forced.
The correct answer is Choice (D). The descriptions of the conditions these sailors found themselves in should help you decide that they weren’t hired or enticed; ironed is one meaning of the word pressed, but it isn’t correct in this context.
If the Paragraph Comprehension questions on the ASVAB simply asked you to scan a passage and find the main point or supporting details, it would be a pretty simple test. But the subtest goes beyond that. In order to properly answer some of the questions on the test, you have to analyze what you’ve read and draw conclusions.
Try this example:
Safe motorcycle riding means
(A) always wearing a helmet.
(B) using premium gas.
(C) selecting the most expensive motorcycle.
(D) always riding with a buddy.
The correct answer is Choice (A). The author didn’t specifically state in the passage that wearing a helmet is important, but you can infer the correct answer because the author gives the reason for fatalities: Motorcycles themselves offer virtually no protection in a crash. Based on the information provided in the passage, you can logically conclude that even the small degree of protection offered by a helmet increases the safety of riding motorcycles. None of the other choices is as closely connected to the idea of safety.
The best way to score well on the Paragraph Comprehension subtest is to improve your reading comprehension skills by following the advice I give in Chapter 7. However, you can also do a few things on test day to make sure you score as high as possible:
Time for you to put all the great advice I provide in this chapter and Chapter 7 to good use. (You can see that I’m not usually accused of being too modest.) Quiz yourself on the following sample test questions to see whether your reading comprehension is up to speed. Read each short paragraph, which is followed by one or more questions regarding information contained in that passage. Make sure to read the paragraph carefully before selecting the choice that most correctly answers the question.
First, stick to one excuse. Thus, if a tradesman, with whom your social relations are slight, should chance to find you taking coppers from his till, you may possibly explain that you are interested in Numismatics and are a Collector of Coins; and he may possibly believe you. But if you tell him afterwards that you pitied him for being overloaded with unwieldy copper discs, and were in the act of replacing them by a silver sixpence of your own, this further explanation, so far from increasing his confidence in your motives, will (strangely enough) actually decrease it. And if you are so unwise as to be struck by yet another brilliant idea, and tell him that the pennies were all bad pennies, which you were concealing to save him from a police prosecution for coining, the tradesman may even be so wayward as to institute a police prosecution himself.
—G. K. Chesterton
1. The author is giving the reader advice about
(A) collecting coins.
(B) stealing.
(C) dealing with tradesmen.
(D) becoming a police officer.
Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as duty, honor, and integrity that motivate attitudes and actions. Not all values are ethical values (integrity is — happiness is not). Ethical values relate to what is right and wrong and thus take precedence over nonethical values when making ethical decisions.
2. According to the paragraph, values can best be defined as
(A) ethics.
(B) stealing.
(C) core beliefs.
(D) right and wrong.
Questions 3 and 4 refer to the following passage.
Although the average consumer replaces the tires on his or her automobile every 50,000 miles, steel-belted radials can last for 60,000 miles. However, they must be properly maintained. The tires must be inflated to the correct air pressure at all times, and tires must be rotated and balanced according to a routine maintenance schedule. The tread should be checked for correct depth regularly.
3. How long can steel-belted radials last?
(A) 25,000 miles
(B) 50,000 miles
(C) 60,000 miles
(D) No one knows.
4. Proper tire maintenance, as described in the passage, does not include
(A) keeping tires properly inflated.
(B) balancing and rotating tires.
(C) checking the tread.
(D) checking the lug nuts.
Questions 5 and 6 refer to the following passage.
Some people argue that baking is an art, but Chef Debra Dearborn says that baking is a science. She says that if you follow a recipe carefully, assembling the ingredients accurately, cooking at the specified temperature for the specified period of time, your cookies will always turn out right. Chef Dearborn says the best baking is like the best experiment; anyone can duplicate it.
5. In this passage, the word assembling most nearly means
(A) measuring.
(B) putting together.
(C) buying.
(D) storing.
6. According to the passage, a person who can’t make a decent batch of cookies
(A) should get out of the kitchen.
(B) is an artist.
(C) isn’t following the recipe carefully.
(D) is Chef Dearborn.
Boiler technicians operate main and auxiliary boilers. They maintain and repair all parts, including pressure fittings, valves, pumps, and forced-air blowers. Technicians may have to lift or move heavy equipment. They may have to stoop and kneel and work in awkward positions.
7. According to this job description, a good candidate for this job would be
(A) a person with management experience.
(B) an individual with keen eyesight.
(C) a person who isn’t mechanically minded.
(D) a person who is physically fit.
In June 2004, the city council passed a resolution requiring all residents to paint their address numbers on their homes using a bright color. This was done to assist firemen, police, and paramedics in finding an address during an emergency. In August, 300 residences were randomly sampled, and it was found that 150 had complied with the new ordinance.
8. According to the passage, what percentage of the randomly sampled residences had complied with the new ordinance?
(A) 10 percent
(B) 20 percent
(C) 50 percent
(D) 60 percent
Questions 9 and 10 refer to the following passage.
The younger the child, the trickier using medicine is. Children under 2 years shouldn’t be given any over-the-counter (OTC) drug without a doctor’s approval. Your pediatrician can tell you how much of a common drug, like acetaminophen (Tylenol), is safe for babies. Prescription drugs also can work differently in children than adults. Some barbiturates, for example, which make adults feel sluggish, will make a child hyperactive. Amphetamines, which stimulate adults, can calm children. When giving any drug to a child, watch closely for side effects. If you’re not happy with what’s happening with your child, don’t assume that everything’s okay. Always be suspicious. It’s better to make the extra calls to the doctor or nurse practitioner than to see a child have a bad reaction to a drug. And before parents dole out OTC drugs, they should consider whether they’re truly necessary. Americans love to medicate — perhaps too much. A study published in the October 1994 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that more than half of all mothers surveyed had given their 3-year-olds an OTC medication in the previous month. Not every cold needs medicine. Common viruses run their course in seven to ten days with or without medication. Although some OTC medications can make children more comfortable and help them eat and rest better, others may trigger allergic reactions or changes for the worse in sleeping, eating, and behavior. Antibiotics, available by prescription, don’t work at all on cold viruses.
9. A common problem in America is
(A) over-medication.
(B) parents not heeding the advice of their doctors.
(C) OTC drugs not requiring a prescription.
(D) the cost of prescription medication.
10. When a parent is in doubt about giving a child medication, it’s best to
(A) speak with a pharmacist.
(B) call a doctor or nurse practitioner.
(C) read the label closely.
(D) research the side effects.
Use this answer key to score the practice Paragraph Comprehension questions.
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