Accuplacer next generation Writing & Reading 35 Questions with Verified Answers
The contrasts the narrator draws in sentences 1 and 2 between the
... [Show More] Players' homes and the houses in the "landscape" and between the Players' automobiles and the "roads" are most likely meant to suggest that the
Players' homes and automobiles are - CORRECT ANSWER B. modern and alien
Based on the passage, which of the following most accurately characterizes the claim that "there was plenty
of time to smooth the thing out" (sentence 8)? - CORRECT ANSWER A. A comforting falsehood that the Players know to be
untrue
The descriptive language in sentence 10 is mainly intended to reinforce the passage's depiction of the Players' - CORRECT ANSWER D. persistent mood of despair regarding the play
The narrator most strongly suggests that which of the
following resulted in the transformation described in the last paragraph? - CORRECT ANSWER D. The break in routine occurring the day before the first performance
The main purpose of the last paragraph of Passage 1 is to offer - CORRECT ANSWER B. justification
Which conclusion can reasonably be drawn about the status of the "lawnbot" issue at the time of the writing of Passage 2? - CORRECT ANSWER D. The manufacturer and astronomers have yet to resolve their conflict.
Which choice best describes the relationship between
the two passages? - CORRECT ANSWER A. Passage 1 mainly discusses the National Radio Quiet Zone in general, while Passage 2 mainly discusses a particular threat to the zone's integrity.
Given the evidence in the passages, with which
statement would the authors of both passages most likely agree? - CORRECT ANSWER B. The Green Bank Telescope can detect extremely small amounts of energy
In the passage, the use of "crazy," "dinosaur head,"
"bumpy," "straight," and "swooping" serve mainly to emphasize the - CORRECT ANSWER C. irregularity of downtown Manhattan
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the passage? - CORRECT ANSWER B. An author's life is connected to various themes in her work.
When the author writes that C. diegosuarezi "should have been a meat eater," she most likely means that the species - CORRECT ANSWER D. had body features similar to those of its meat-eating relative
The second paragraph marks a shift in the passage from a discussion of Leehom Wang's - CORRECT ANSWER B. early musical influences to his later musical career
Which of the following would be most similar to the
examples the author provides in the passage? - CORRECT ANSWER C. A person's unfiltered first reaction to a major event becomes widely known because that person posts it online.
The passage most strongly emphasizes which aspect of the job of construction management? - CORRECT ANSWER A. The variety of its responsibilities
Which of the following does the author offer as evidence to support the point that, for a time, serialization was highly successful? - CORRECT ANSWER A. The change in circulation for The Pickwick Papers
Based on the passage, Anderson puts "city" in quotation marks most likely to - CORRECT ANSWER B. signal a nonliteral usage
It can reasonably be concluded from the passage that in
the author's opinion, scientific research today is chiefly impaired by the - CORRECT ANSWER D. operation of economic forces potentially hostile to
the common good
The main purpose of the passage is to - CORRECT ANSWER B. present a sharp critique
Deciding that none of the nominees was ______________
the award, the film committee began reviewing a new group of candidates with better qualifications. - CORRECT ANSWER C. worthy of
Nuclear engineer Meena Mutyala argues that nuclear
power is an environmentally ______________ technology, operating with essentially no emissions. - CORRECT ANSWER D. benign
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"I cannot except that you won't go to the dance with me!" - CORRECT ANSWER I cannot accept that you won't go to the dance with me!
Explanation:
The easiest way to remember the difference in meaning between these two words is to look at their letters—accept has two c's that are like open arms, just waiting to hug and embrace and accept whatever is being offered, whereas except has a big X just waiting to reject and exclude something ("I will take all of the cookies except that one with the bite taken out of it").
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"It is clear to see that the stock market is going to have it's ups and downs; it is important not to overreact to the volatility." - CORRECT ANSWER It is clear to see that the stock market is going to have its ups and downs; it is important not to overreact to the volatility.
Explanation:
It's is a contraction of it is or it has; it never shows possession. To test whether you need it's or its, try substituting the phrase it is or it has. If either of those work, you need the apostrophe. If neither of them make sense in your sentence, you don't need the apostrophe.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Heavy rains and thunderstorms continue to roll through the area; therefore, all flights are cancelled until tomorrow." - CORRECT ANSWER no error
Explanation:
This question tests your knowledge of semicolon use. In this case, a semicolon is used to join two independent clauses. All is well!
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Katie did not have no time to pick Kevin up before the game." - CORRECT ANSWER Katie did not have any time to pick Kevin up before the game.
Explanation:
This sentence had a double negative, which is a big no-no. Just like in math, double negatives actually create a positive, which was not the intent of the sentence.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"The wily fox escape the dogs who were chasing after it." - CORRECT ANSWER The wily fox escaped the dogs who were chasing after it.
Explanation:
The verbs need to match in subject and tense. In this case, the first verb, escape, did not match its subject in number (fox = singular, escape = plural) and it did not match the other verbs in tense (escape = present tense, were chasing = past tense).
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"The book was thrown on the bed by Madi." - CORRECT ANSWER No error, but the sentence would be stronger if written in active voice: "Madi threw the book on the bed."
Explanation:
Remember, while not grammatically incorrect, sentences written in passive voice can create weak, ineffectual writing. Try to always use active voice so that instead of the subject of the sentence being a victim of whatever action is being done, it can be the doer.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"The piano keys was broken." - CORRECT ANSWER The piano keys were broken.
Explanation:
This is a subject-verb agreement issue. The word keys is plural, but was is singular. It would be correct to say, "The piano key was broken."
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"The DVD's were on sale for $5 each." - CORRECT ANSWER The DVDs were on sale for $5 each.
Explanation:
Remember, apostrophes are for contractions or possession only. There shouldn't be an apostrophe to pluralize acronyms or abbreviations (nor should you use them in dates—it was the 1970s, not the 1970's).
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"We visited Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Rome, Italy; and Athens, Greece on our European cruise." - CORRECT ANSWER no error
Explanation:
Although it may seem like a lot of semicolons in one sentence, they are all necessary to separate the list of locations. In this case, the commas separate the city from the country and the semicolons separate those four locations.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"On the advise of my lawyer, I refuse to answer that question." - CORRECT ANSWER On the advice of my lawyer, I refuse to answer that question.
Explanation:
Advice and advise are often confused. Advice is a noun, a recommendation about what to do. Advise is a verb, to recommend something. They cannot be used interchangeably. To know which one to use, determine which part of speech the word is in a sentence. If it is acting as a noun (a "something"), use advice; if it is acting as a verb (something someone is doing), use advise.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Mom was sure Brian would loose his wallet if he kept it in his pocket while skateboarding." - CORRECT ANSWER Mom was sure Brian would lose his wallet if he kept it in his pocket while skateboarding.
Explanation:
One o makes a big difference. In the case of lose vs. loose, loose means to unfasten or set free (Mark got the turtle loose from the plastic noose.). But, lose one "o" and now you've changed the word to mean being deprived of or unable to find something. Remember, you lose one o and you get a satisfying "oo" when you loosen your tight belt.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Stay true to your own principles and you will never be sorry." - CORRECT ANSWER no error
Explanation:
Sometimes, principle gets confused with principal. Remember, the leader of a school can be your "pal," so that's the one that refers to a person.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"He's drowning, Lindsay shouted!" - CORRECT ANSWER "He's drowning!" Lindsay shouted.
Explanation:
Lindsay is doing the shouting, so whatever she said should be punctuated by the exclamation mark. The narrator is calmly telling us what Lindsay shouted so the entire sentence just ends with a period.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Toys and books scattered around the child's room." - CORRECT ANSWER Toys and books were scattered around the child's room.
Explanation:
There are a variety of ways to fix the sentence, but the point is to identify that it is an incomplete sentence because it is missing a verb and, therefore, doesn't express a complete thought.
Find the error, if any, in this sentence:
"Sarah loves to read books she reads at least three every week." - CORRECT ANSWER Sarah loves to read books. She reads at least three every week.
Explanation:
There are a variety of ways to fix the sentence, but the point is to identify that it is a run-on sentence. There are too many complete thoughts present, so it needs to be broken down into two separate sentences. You could also fix it by using a semicolon ("Sarah loves to read books; she reads at least three every week.") or a comma and a coordinating conjunction ("Sarah loves to read books, and she reads at least three every week."). [Show Less]