CRITICAL READING SAMPLE TEST – 2023

Instructions: Read the passages and answer the following questions

Passage 1

1 Suppose you are about to make a speech intended to persuade your audience of something. Perhaps you
want to argue that more spending on education is necessary or that the budget deficit should be reduced
through cuts in domestic spending. Would you persuade more people if you simply stated your view and
ignored the arguments against your position? Or would you be more persuasive if you explained the
opposing arguments and attempted to refute them?

2 Before we try to provide an answer, let’s look closely at the factors involved. If you discuss the
opposition’s arguments, it might indicate that you are an objective, fair-minded person. This could
enhance your trustworthiness and thus increase your effectiveness. On the other hand, if you so much as
mention the arguments on the other side of the issue, it might suggest to the audience that the issue is a
controversial one. This might confuse members of the audience and induce them to search for
counterarguments, reducing the persuasiveness of your speech.

3 With these possibilities in mind, it should not come as a surprise to the reader that there is no simple
relation between one-sided arguments and the effectiveness of a speech. It depends to some extent upon
how well informed the audience is and on the audience’s initial opinions on the issue.

4 Research generally finds that the more well informed the members of the audience are, the less likely
they are to be persuaded by a one-sided argument. They are also more likely to be persuaded by an
argument that brings out the important opposing arguments and then attempts to refute them. This makes
sense: A well-informed person is more likely to know some of the counterarguments. When you avoid
mentioning them, the knowledgeable members of the audience are likely to conclude that you either are
unfair or are unable to refute such arguments. On the other hand, an uninformed person is less apt to know
of the existence of opposing arguments. If the counterargument is ignored, the less-informed members of
the audience are persuaded. If the counterargument is presented, they might get confused.

1. Which sentence best expresses the main idea of the passage?

A. A speaker’s argument will be most effective if based on how informed or uninformed an audience is.
B. Well-informed members of an audience usually react negatively to a one-sided argument.
C. Uninformed members of an audience may be confused by an opposing argument.
D. Counterarguments are always part of an effective communication.

2. Which sentence best expresses the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. Mentioning the opposition’s arguments can make you seem fair and open-minded.
B. Audience members may become confused if you mention the opposition’s arguments.
C. Suggesting that an issue is a controversial one can lead to audience members looking for
counterarguments.
D. There are both benefits and risks associated with presenting the opposition’s arguments.

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3. In the sentence “This might confuse members of the audience and induce them to search for
counterarguments, reducing the persuasiveness of your speech.”, the word induce means
_________________
A. discourage. B. trust. C. cause. D. annoy.

4. According to the author, the people most likely to be persuaded by one-sided arguments are
______________________.
A. highly opinionated.
B. well informed.
C. poorly informed.
D. politically conservative.

5. According to the passage, a speaker who avoids mentioning the opposition’s arguments
___________
A. is more trustworthy than a speaker who does mention those arguments.
B. cannot expect to persuade his or her audience.
C. knows that he or she cannot refute those arguments.
D. may persuade less knowledgeable members of the audience.

6. What is the relationship of the second sentence below to the first?

“With these possibilities in mind, it should not come as a surprise to the reader that there is no simple
relation between one-sided arguments and the effectiveness of a speech. It depends to some extent upon
how well informed the audience is and on the audience’s initial opinions on the issue.”
The second sentence ____________________
A. contrasts with the first sentence.
B. explains the first sentence.
C. provides an example of the idea in the first sentence.
D. restates the first sentence.

7. “With these possibilities in mind, it should not come as a surprise to the reader that there is no simple
relation between one-sided arguments and the effectiveness of a speech.”
The above statement is a statement of __________
A. fact
B. opinion
C. a blend
Explain your answer by giving some possible clue(s) briefly.
___“Should not” is an indicator of the author’s viewpoint or recommendation; “come as a surprise” and
“simple” show the author’s judgement on the issue. ____________

8. You can reasonably conclude from this passage that ________________

A. it is best to attend a speech without learning much about the topic beforehand.
B. successful speakers try to tailor their speeches to reflect the audience’s prior knowledge about the issue.
C. more often than not, it is best to ignore counterarguments in making a speech.
D. the best speakers often ignore how much their audiences know about a given topic.

9. You can infer that the author’s purpose in writing this passage is to ______________

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A. prepare readers to become more effective public speakers.
B. persuade readers that more spending on education is necessary.
C. prepare people for jury duty.
D. help train students who are college education majors.
10. What is the overall tone of the passage?
A. persuasive
B. objective
C. biased
D. emotional
Passage 2
1 We often hear a great deal about the trend toward globalization, but the term and its meanings are often
not defined. Economic globalization means the growing tendency for goods and services to be produced
in one nation or region and consumed in another. The largest of the companies that produce these goods
and services are multinational corporations, often with many subsidiary corporations, that have their
headquarters in one country but pursue business activities and profits in one or more foreign nations.
2 The growth of multinational corporations is associated with the tendency to export capital and jobs
overseas where labor is cheaper and more plentiful. During the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. plants, factories,
mills, and other industrial facilities suffered as capital was diverted abroad. Unable to maintain their
competitive edge, many manufacturing facilities closed. Especially hard hit were plants in the nation's
older, single-industry cities and towns, most of which were located in the manufacturing belt of the
Midwest.
3 The biggest losers in the decline in manufacturing have been industrial towns and cities in the Northeast
and Midwest. When rubber mills in Akron, Ohio, and steel mills in Youngstown, Ohio, and the Pittsburgh
areas shut their doors, the local economies were devastated. With few secondary industries to fall back
on, these cities experienced severe economic and social upheavals during the recessions of the mid-1970s
and early 1980s and 1990s. In the 1970s, the steel mills in Gary, Indiana, employed almost 28,000 workers
in relatively well-paid jobs with good benefits. Today, fewer than 8,000 workers are employed in the Gary
mills. Nevertheless, modernization of the steel industry, leading to greater efficiency and quality control,
may produce a turnaround. Steel exports are rising, and steel companies profits are improving.
(Adapted from William Kornblum and Joseph Julian, Social Problems, 13th ed., Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009.)
11. Which of the following sentences best states the implied main idea of the passage?
A. Although globalization initially devastated the U.S. steel industry, the industry is now ex- periencing a
turnaround.
B. As multinational corporations moved their production overseas, cities and industries of the American
Mid- and Northwest declined.
C. Globalization has many benefits for multinational corporations.
D. Globalization has all but devastated the American Midwest.
12. What is the relationship between the following sentences? "In the 1970s, the steel mills in Gary,
Indiana, employed almost 28,000 workers in relatively well-paid jobs with good benefits. Today, fewer
than 8,000 workers are employed in the Gary mills."
A. Statement and clarification
B. Compare and contrast
C. Time order
D. Cause and effect
13. What is the overall pattern of organization of the SECOND paragraph?

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A. Listing
B. Cause and effect
C. Spatial order
D. Compare and contrast
14. Complete the following sentence with TWO suitable words
The author's purpose in writing this passage is _______to inform____________________.

15. The author's tone in this passage can best be described as

A. optimistic.
B. gloomy.
C. condescending.
D. neutral.

16. Complete the following sentence with ONE suitable word

The statement, "The biggest losers in the decline in manufacturing have been industrial towns and cities
in the Northeast and Midwest," from the third paragraph is adequately supported by mostly
____facts_________.

17. What does the word “upheavals” in the sentence “With few secondary industries to fall back on,
these cities experienced severe economic and social upheavals during the recessions of the mid-1970s
and early 1980s and 1990s” mean?
A. major disruptions
B. natural disasters
C. minor fluctuations
D. significant developments
18. Is the statement, "Nevertheless, modernization of the steel industry, leading to greater efficiency and
quality control, may produce a turnaround" ______________?
A. a fact
B. an opinion
C. a blend

19. Which of the following is a conclusion that can be reached regarding this passage?
A. Multinational corporations tend to concentrate on just one industry.
B. Before the 1970s, the American manufacturing belt had no economic or social problems.
C. Multinational corporations pay their workers less than they would pay an American worker.
D. If it weren't for multinational corporations, the manufacturing industries of the Midwest would be
thriving.
20. What does the word “capital” mean in the sentence, "The growth of multinational corporations is
associated with the tendency to export capital and jobs overseas where labor is cheaper and more
plentiful"?
A. Headquarters
B. Culture
C. Money and equipment
D. Employees

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Passage 3
1 I start my day here at five o'clock. I get up and prepare all the children's clothes. If there's shoes to shine,
I do it in the morning. About seven o'clock I bathe the children. I leave the baby with the baby sitter and
I go to work at the settlement house. I work until twelve o'clock. Sometimes I'll work longer if I have to
go to welfare and get a check for somebody. When I get back, I try to make hot foot for the kids to eat. In
the afternoon it's pretty well on my own. I scrub and clean and cook and do whatever I have to do.
2 Welfare makes you feel like you're nothing. Like you're laying back and not doing anything and it's
falling in your lap. But you must understand, mothers, too, work. My house is clean. I've been scrubbing
since this morning. You could check my clothes, all washed and ironed. I'm home and I'm working. I am
a working mother.
3 A job that a woman in a house is doing is a tedious job especially if you want to do it right. If you do it
slipshod, then it's not so bad. I'm pretty much of a perfectionist. I tell my kids, hang a towel. I don't want
it thrown away. That is very hard. It's a constant game of picking up this, picking up that. And putting this
away, so the house'll be clean.
4 Some men work eight hours a day. There are mothers that work eleven, twelve hours a day. We get up
at night, a baby vomits, you have to be calling the doctor, you have to be changing the baby. When you
do get a break, really? You don't. This is an all-around job, day and night. Why do they say it's charity?
We're working for our money. I am working for this check. It is not charity. We are giving some kind of
home to these children.
5 I'm so busy all day I don't have time to daydream. I pray a lot. I pray to God to give me strength. If He
should take a child away from me, to have the strength to accept it. It's His kind. He just borrowed him to
me.
6 I used to get in and close the door. Now I speak up for my right. I walk with my head up. If I
want to wear big earrings, I do. If I'm overweight, that's too bad. I've gotten completely over
feeling where I'm little. I'm working now, I'm pulling my weight. I'm gonna get off welfare in
time, that's my goal-get off.
7 It's living off welfare and feeling that you're taking something for nothing the way people have said.
You get to think maybe you are. You get to thing, Why am I so stupid? Why can't I work? Why do I have
to live this way? It's not enough to live on anyway. You feel degraded.
8 The other day I was at the hospital and I went to pay my bill. This nurse came and gave me the green
card. Green card is for welfare. She went right in front of me and gave it to the cashier. She said, "I wish
I could stay home and let the money fall in my lap." I felt rotten. I was just burning inside. You hear this
all the way around you. The doctor doesn't even look at you. People are ashamed to show that green card.
Why can't a woman just get a check in the mail: Here, this check is for you. Forget welfare. You're a
mother who works.
9 This nurse, to her way of thinking, she represents the working people. The ones with the green card, we
represent the lazy no-goods. This is what she was saying. They're the good ones and we're the bad guys.
-Terkel, Working, pp. 303-4
21. This article was written by
a. a professional writer.
b. a welfare mother.
c. a welfare cheat.
d. a taxpayer against welfare.
22. The tone of the author in writing this article is _____________
a. grateful for public assistance.
b. extremely hostile.

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c. desperate for understanding.
d. hopeful toward the future.

23. Read the selection below and complete the inference statement with NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS of your own.
"I tell my kids, hang a towel. I don't want it thrown away. That is very hard. It's a constant game of picking
up this, picking up that. And putting this away, so the house'll be clean."
It can be inferred from the above statement that the narrator often feels ______challenging and
overwhelmed___________________ in her role as a mother.

24. The author's purpose in writing this article was to ____________

a. lobby for reform of welfare laws.
b. expose people who misuse welfare.
c. express bitterness toward those who represent the working world.
d. explain how unfairly society treats welfare recipients.
25. Which one of the following statements made by the author is an assumption?
a. "The doctor doesn't even look at you."
b. "I scrub and clean and cook and do whatever I have to do."
c. "Some men work eight hours a day."
d. "I work until twelve o'clock."
26. What type of fallacy is presented in the selection below?
“This is what she was saying. They're the good ones and we're the bad guys.”
_____________hasty generalisation ________________
27. Which one of the following statements best represents the author's primary argument?
a. All women work harder than men.
b. All welfare recipients work.
c. People make welfare recipients feel bad about themselves.
d. People don't receive much money on welfare.
28. Which of the following statements does not support the author's primary argument?
a. "People are ashamed to show that green card."
b. "Welfare makes you feel like you're nothing."
c. "They're the good ones, and we're the bad guys."
d. "We're working for our money."
29. The author bases her argument on which one of the following?
a. facts
b. personal experience
c. statistics
d. cause effect relationships
30. Which one of the following reveals a bias? The author _____________
a. took one side of an argument and did not recognize opposing views.
b. took a radical stand on a controversial issue.
c. supported an unpopular argument.
d. argued against opposing views.