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Secondary Diagnostic Test in Reading

Sample Test Questions


The Reading Diagnostic is a 50 question, multiple-choice test of reading comprehension skills. During the exam, you will
be asked to demonstrate the following skills:
1. Define unfamiliar words by a variety of methods.
2. Identify the main idea in reading passages.
3. Understand the use of supporting details in reading selections.
4. Identify the implied main idea and central point in written passages.
5. Understand ideas developed by a variety of methods.
6. Distinguish between fact and opinion in written passages.
7. Make inferences about implied idea in reading selections.
8. Recognize both the authors purpose and tone.
9. Understand and recognize the elements of an argument.
10. Increase comprehension using active reading strategies and visual aids.
In addition to these sample questions, you should spend time reading to prepare for this exam. You should select
material that is college-level. The work does not need to be textbook material but can be any college-level reading that
catches your interest. As you read, be sure to look up words that you do not know.
Sample Questions
1.

In the word DEDUCTIVE, ive is which of the following?


a. Prefix

2.

b. Root

c. Suffix

d. Antonym

Read the following passage.


1

Do you receive lots of junk email messages from people you do not know? 2 It is no surprise if you do. 3 As more
people use e-mail, marketers are increasingly using e-mail messages to pitch their products and services. 4 Some
consumers find unsolicited commercial, also known as spam, annoying and time consuming; others have lost
money to bogus offers that arrived in their e-mail in-box. 5 An e-mail spammer buys a list of e-mail addresses
from a list broker, who compiles it by harvesting addresses from the Internet. 6 Following are simple
suggestions to help reduce the amount of spam you receive. 7 First, try not to display your e-mail address in
public. 8This includesA newsgroup postings, chat rooms, websites, on in an online services membership
directory. 9 Second, check the privacy policy when you submit your address to a website. 10 Third, read and
understand the entire form before you send personal information through a website. 11 Fourth, use two email
addresses: one for personal messages and one for newsgroups and chat rooms. 12 Finally, use an e-mail filter;
your email account may provide a tool to block potential spam.
Which sentence contains the Topic sentence?
a. Sentence 1

b. Sentence 4

c. Sentence 6

d. Sentence 12

These items are not questions from the test nor do they imply all areas of study in order to prepare for the tests. These
questions represent an example of some of the content covered in Learning Support Reading courses.

3.

Read the following group of ideas and then answer the questions that follow.
a. Having someone to talk to about problems can reduce anxiety and fear.
b. People who have healthy relationships with family and friends tend to live longer, healthier lives.
c. A strong support system helps lessen the negative effects of stress.
The first sentence, Having someone to talk to about problems can reduce anxiety and fear. Is an example of
which of the following.
a. The main idea

4.

b. a supporting detail

c. a topic

d. a topic sentence

Identify the thought pattern in the following sentence.


Several factors influence the way we relate to and use space in communicating.
a. Cause and effect

b. comparison and contrast

c. definition

d. simple listing

5. Identify the thought pattern in the following sentence.


Analgesics, such as aspirin and ibuprofen are pain relievers.
a. Cause and effect

b. comparison and contrast

c. definition

d. simple listing

6. Read the following sentence and then answer the question about it.
California struggles with immigration issues because of its shared borders with Mexico and Canada.
Which of the following is true of this sentence?
a. It states a fact.
b. It states an opinion. c. It states neither a fact nor an opinion.
d. It states both a fact and an opinion.

7.

What is the main purpose of the following sentence?

Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you dont mind, it doesnt matter.
a. to inform

b. to persuade c. to entertain

d. to criticize

8. Gertrude Janeway, the last widow of a Union veteran from the Civil War, has died in the three-room log cabin
where she lived most of her life. The tone of this statement is:
a. matter-of fact

b. insensitive

c. sorrowful

d. harsh

These items are not questions from the test nor do they imply all areas of study in order to prepare for the tests. These
questions represent an example of some of the content covered in Learning Support Reading courses.

Read the following passage by Henry Sayre and answer the question about it.
Artists employ various methods to draw the viewers eyes to the part of the painting they want
to emphasize. One of the techniques artists use in circular paintings is radial symmetry. A
circular painting is radially symmetric if the center of the painting is the major focal point and
the other parts of the painting surround the center in a pattern, like spokes on a wheel.
Wheels are a visual attraction for many people who use them as decorations. Another method
is to use the balance of the painting or the symmetry of the lines. If many of the directional
lines in the painting are parallel, the viewers inclination is to follow those lines to the end.
Color, light, and contrast can be used as techniques to entice the viewers eyes to focus first
on the desired section of the painting. If shades of one color are used for the background, the
viewers eyes are drawn to the element of the painting that the artist wants as the focal point.
By making some of the colors a strong contrast to those used in the background, a point of
emphasis is established.
9. Based on information provided in the passage, you can infer that radial symmetry means:
a. Paintings people enjoy viewing
b. color, light and contrast
arrangement of parts about a central point

c. shades of one color

d. a symmetrical

10. Blue whales, the largest living animals on Earth, are spectacularly large creatures. The sheer magnitude of these
marine beasts is obvious when one examines the animals enormous heart-approximately the size of a small
automobile- and realizes that a human could easily crawl through its gigantic aorta.
What is the function of the second sentence?
a. It provides a counterexample.
b. It disproves the information in the first sentence.
c. It provides supporting evidence for a claim.
d. It gives the authors opinion.
Answers
1. C
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. D
7. C
8. A
9. D
10. C

These items are not questions from the test nor do they imply all areas of study in order to prepare for the tests. These
questions represent an example of some of the content covered in Learning Support Reading courses.

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