READING COMPREHENSION Part 1 Answers

Directions: In this test you will read several passages. Answer all the questions that follow by encircling the
correct answer.

Passage A
One reason that so many people fail is that they lack confidence in themselves. If you think of yourself as
being unworthy of great achievement, you will never achieve greatness. If, on the other hand, you know
yourself and understand what your abilities are, and if then you are determined to accomplish and gain
confidence in yourself.
One of the surest ways to accomplish this is for you to associate with persons who have really achieved
greatness. It is impossible, however, for most people to come frequently into the actual presence of the
great. The next best thing, perhaps, is for you to spend part of your time in reading about great achievers.
Biography is a powerful stimulant to action.
But these processes will not work unless you rid yourself of a sense of inferiority and determined to do the
best that you possibly can. One of the great philosophers expressed the idea in a single sentence when he
said that each individual should hitch his wagon to a star.

QUESTIONS:
1. What is the main idea of the selection?
a. Self-confidence is hard to achieve
b. Many people suffer from an inferiority complex
c. Knowing oneself leads to great achievement in life
d. Self-confidence is the key factor in achieving success in life

2. Which paragraph/s gives/give specific suggestions on how to develop confidence in oneself?

a. Paragraph 1 b. Paragraph 2 c. Paragraph 1 and 3 d. Paragraph 2 and 3

3. What word is synonymous or closest in meaning to the word “hitch” as used in the last sentence of the
selection?
a. drive b. fasten c. detach d. remove

4. Successful people are different from those who are not because they
a. Work hard at having faith in their abilities.
b. Persevere to achieve greatness.
c. Hesitate to take risk by themselves.
d. Disregard the opinions of others.

5. What does the saying “Each individual should hitch his wagon to a star” mean?
a. One should try to fulfill all his ambitions in life.
b. A person should emulate his ideal person.
c. A person should aim as high as he could reach.
d. One should wish upon a star to make his dreams come true.

6. What literary technique was used by the writer in presenting his ideas?
a. Narration c. Comparing ideas
b. Detailed analysis d. Giving suggestions

7. According to the author, what is one of the surest ways to achieve self-confidence?
a. Read lots of informative books
b. Deal with people who have achieved greatness
c. Be-friend people who are self-sufficient
d. Develop a strong and independent personality

8. Based on the selection, what conclusion may be drawn?

a. Confidence in oneself is crucial in achieving success
b. Associating with well-known individuals is enough to propel one to succeed
c. Reading the biographies of great people is essential for one to become successful
d. Confidence in the ability of others is needed to boost one’s chances of succeeding

READING COMPREHENSION PART 2 ANSWERS

Directions: In this test you will read several passages. Answer all the questions that follow by encircling the
correct answer.

Passage B
Asia’s new generation of kids has more than just youth in common. Whether in Manila, Hongkong, Kuala
Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta or Tokyo, whether rich or poor, urban or rural, delinquent or not, Asia’s
youngsters share many things. They go to schools, sing-along bars, fast food outlets, rock concert and rallies.
They are dressed in wild costumes of screaming colors or black, leather jackets, outsize t-shirts and candy-
colored sneakers.
In Manila, they are particularly called “bagets”. Their pursuits, though seemingly inane are innocent – singing-
along with the gang at the malls, sharing cheeseburgers and sodas or cruising the commercial center of
Cubao and Makati.
In Bangkok, they will wander about the Siam Shopping Center, in Singapore, in the shopping complexes of
Orchard Road. They are kids of Asia’s great cities, avant-garde, rebellious, modernized. They are exposed to
imported television that usher in international values.
In Hongkong, the kids have been described as precocious, world-wise, and materialistic, governed less by
teachers and parents than by the omnipresent television. Peer group influence is great. Their trademarks are
smoking, foul language, bizarre and attention-getting appearance, and rude mannerisms.
In Japan, they look like different race to the old generation. There is rising drug abuse, sexual freedom, crime
and homosexuality among the youth. There’s less respect given to parents and to the aged.

QUESTIONS:
9. The passage is about Asia’s
a. lost generation c. urbanized society
b. delinquent youth d. new generation of youth

10. It can be inferred from the passage that Asia’s youth

a. have senseless pursuits c. have been influenced by western culture
b. share many common goals d. have varied dreams and ambitions

11. What is worth observing and good about the youth beneath the modern image and westernized lifestyle?
a. The youth are still the easy-go-lucky type.
b. Many of them still believe in traditional values.
c. They share a common character as influenced by the media.
d. The values of the new generation have been modified by modernization.
12. When the author said that Asian youth are avant-garde, it means that they
a. are behind the times c. are promiscuous and stubborn
b. have old-fashionedthoughts d. practice new and experimental ideas

13. What conclusion can be drawn out of the passage?

a. Peers are just companions, they don’t influence others.
b. Print and broadcast media have a great influence on the youth.
c. Discipline at home has nothing to do with the character of the youth today.
d. Character is hereditary, the environment has nothing to do with what was become of the youth today.

14. If the youth are exposed to too much western television they will likely
a. Develop foreign values and forget traditional ones.
b. Become complacent and indifferent.
c. Become aggressive and violent.
d. Develop an independent mind.

15. What literary technique was used by the author in writing the selection?
a. Comparing b. Describing c. Making profile d. Narrating events

READING COMPREHENSION PART 3 ANSWERS

Directions: In this test you will read several passages. Answer all the questions that follow by encircling the
correct answer.

Passage C
In the year 1799, an officer of the French Army was stationed in a small fortress on the Rosetta River, a
mouth of the Nile, near Alexander, Egypt. He was interested in the ruins of the ancient Egyptian civilization,
and had seen the sphinx and the pyramids, those mysterious structures that were erected by men of another
era.
One day, as a trench was being dug, he found a piece of black slate on which letters had been carved. He had
studied Greek in school, and knew this was an inscription written in that language. There were two more
lines carved into the stone: one on the Egyptian characters he had seen on the ruins , the other in completely
unfamiliar characters.
The officer realized the importance of such a find, and relinquished it to scholars who had been puzzling over
Egyptian inscriptions.
In 1802, a french professor by the name of Champollion began studying the stone in an attempt to decipher
the two unknown sets of characters using the Greek letters as a key. He worked with the stone for over
twenty years, and in 1823, announced that he had discovered the meaning of the fourteen signs, and in doing
so, had unlocked the secret of ancient Egyptian writing.
Some 5000 years after an unknown person had made those three inscriptions, the Rosetta Stone became a
key, unlocking the written records of Egypt and sharing the history of that civilization with the rest of the
world.

QUESTIONS:
16. What is the main idea of the selection?
a. French scholars worked hard in studying ancient history.
b. Ancient Egyptians wrote and preserved their history in stones.
c. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone led to a better understanding of the history of Egypt.
d. A French Army officer studied the Rosetta Stone and the inscriptions carved into it.
In which country was the Rosetta Stone found?
a. Egypt b. Greece c. France d. Alexandra

17. What word would best describe ancient Egyptians based on the selection?
a. dedicated b. resourceful c. wise d. gifted
What might have happened if the Rosetta Stone were not found?
a. Egyptian civilization would have flourished.
b. Ancient Egypt would have not reached the peak of its glory.
c. Ancient Egyptians would have not known of their cultural heritage.
d. Egyptian civilization would have not been fully understood by the modern world.

18. What does the lone sentence in the third paragraph mean?
a. The owner of the Rosetta Stone tried to sell it to scholars.
b. The Egyptians scholars were puzzled by the inscriptions found in the Rosetta Stone.
c. The founder of the Rosetta Stone knew of its value and turned it over to the proper authorities.
d. The officer did not think the Rosetta Stone had much value and therefore gave it away.

19. What literary technique was used by the writer in developing the passage?
a. Detailed analysis c. Narrative chronological order of events
b. Comparison and contrast of ideas
d. Repetition of important points for emphasis

20. What conclusion may be drawn from the passage?

a. Egypt has a rich civilization dating back to the earliest times.
b. Egypt has a mysterious culture which remained unknown.
c. Egypt was an ancient country with no significant history.
d. Egypt’s civilization benefited only those in ancient times.

READING COMPREHENSION PART 4 ANSWERS

Directions: In this test you will read several passages. Answer all the questions that follow by encircling the
correct answer.

Passage D
The complacent Filipino majority may not have been awakened yet to the reality of a ravaged environment;
nonetheless, the evidence must be overemphasized. Automotive vehicles for one, reportedly contribute 94.6
million tons of waste released into the air each year, a commuter can only imagine how polluted the air that
gets into his respiratory system is.
Pollution experts are inclined to single out man as the culprit of his own destruction. Man, rightly referred to
as a “messy animal,” has helped being about untold environmental decay.
Imperiled by the pollution of air, water and land are not only human lives. The marine species as well as the
flora and fauna are just adversely affected. Mass suicides of fishes and whales have been witnessed along
Australian and American shorelines.
The mushrooming of factories and plants along river banks have been largely responsible for the pollution of
the different bodies of water, indiscriminate disposal of industrial waste makes festering sinks of the rivers.
Too much dumping of industrial waste renders to water stagnant. Many of the rivers that used to flow along
industrial banks can use some dredging. And yet what good will dredging of a river do if in no time at all it will
serve again as dumping basin? The initiative has to come from the factory owners.
A great number of scientists like or think that new technology can be called upon to check the impending
pollution disaster, others are of the opinion that fewer births and less gadgetry may yet provide the answer
to the devastating dilemma. It cannot be denied, however, that man’s wasteful ways call for some measure
of discipline.
Man’s brutality toward his environment will only lead to his unmarking. It is ironical, indeed, that he who was
created to have dominion over every living creature on earth should one day be overpowered by an
environment he has helped to pollute. The catastrophe can hopefully still be averted.

QUESTIONS:
21. What does the selection generally urge man to realize?
a. The threat of environmental pollution to each country
b. The necessity of taking immediate steps to solve the pollution problem
c. The scope of the problem of environmental pollution
d. The steps to take in checking the impending pollution disaster

22. The phrase “mushrooming of factories” are used in the fourth paragraph of the selection refers to
factories which are
a. built b. destroyed c. maintained d. abandoned
23. In what part of the passage can you read of the ways we can prevent pollution?
a. First paragraph b. Fourth paragraph c. Fifth paragraph d. Last paragraph

24. Who is referred to in the phrase “a messy animal” in the second paragraph of the passage?
a. Fishes and whales b. Flora and fauna c. Scientist d. Man

25. What is implied in the last paragraph of the passage?

a. Man failed to realize the seriousness of the pollution problem.
b. Pollution, if unchecked, can bring about the destruction of man.
c. Man does not deserve to be the master of His creation.
d. There is no need to be alarmed of the pollution problem.

26. What would be the likely outcome if we continue polluting our environment?
a. Man will be destroyed by an environment he had polluted.
b. Less births and less gadgetry will save the world from catastrophe .
c. Technology can help check the problem on environmental pollution.
d. Man’s wasteful ways will contribute more to the pollution of the environment.

27. Which of the following statements show a cause and effect relationship?
a. Man’s wasteful ways are a perennial problem.
b. Man’s brutality toward his destruction.
c. The marine species and the flora and fauna are adversely affected.
d. Mass suicide of fishes and whales have been seen along coastlines.