[Premier Prep] Reading & Vocab Assessment Test

1. Where was Amelia Earhart's birthplace?

a.) Kansas

b.) Chicago

c.) Broadway

d.) New York

2. According to the passage, when did Amelia Earhart began her first flight?

a.) when she was 12 years old.

b.) 1920.

c.) when she first saw an airplane.

d.) when she started to take flying lessons.

3. Amelia Earhart was called “Lady Lindy” because _

a.) she was the undisputed queen of the air.

b.) President Coolidge gave her the nickname.

c.) she repeated Charles Lindbergh’s feat.

d.) of her career and her physical resemblance to Lindbergh.

4. The word “thrilled” in paragraph 1 means:

a.) contemporary

b.) doubtful

c.) excited

d.) scared

5. The word “massive” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to

a.) small

b.) general

c.) large

d.) careful

6. The word “it” paragraph 3 refers to

a.) plane

b.) communication

c.) the reason

d.) aviation

7. The word “sensation” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to

a.) feeling

b.) hit

c.) excitement

d.) perception

8. With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?

a.) The history of aviation

b.) The tragic death of the queen of air

c.) Achievements of early aviation pioneers

d.) The achievements of a pioneering pilot

9. It may be inferred from the passage that Amelia Earhart

a.) would not have developed her love of flying if she had not been invited to become the first woman passenger to cross the Atlantic in a plane.

b.) would have continued to seek new adventures and records to break if she had not died at the age of 39.

c.) became too confident and took too many risks to be able to live to old age.

d.) did not want to return to the United States.

10. According to the passage, which of the following statements about Earhart is NOT true?

a.) She wrote a book about her solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic, called 20 Hrs., 40 Min.

b.) In her last adventure, she didn’t take communication and navigation instruments by accident, and that led to the tragedy.

c.) She is regarded as the female Chare Lindbergh in aviation.

d.) She was in her late twenties when she took her first flight.

11. As used in paragraph 1, which is the best antonym for vigilant?

a.) cowardly

b.) frustrated

c.) displeased

d.) careless

12. What does “they” in paragraph 1 refer to?

a.) mining companies

b.) rock formations

c.) miners

d.) some experts

13. Which transition best fits in the blank _____X____ in the last paragraph.

a.) Despite the fact that

b.) In spite of

c.) In addition to

d.) Because

14. According to the article, if you lived in an Appalachian community located near the mines, many of your organs and body system could be affected except…

a.) blood pressure

b.) eyes

c.) breathing system

d.) auditory system

15. Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the author…

a.) thinks that the United States should stop relying on coal power as a source of energy

b.) is more concerned about the environment than he or she is about human lives

c.) believes that MTR companies care little for the environment or for the Appalachian community

d.) works for an environmental protection group or agency

16. This passage would most likely be found in

a.) the introduction to a larger work on the history of Appalachia

b.) the conclusion to a study on the links between coal mining and health problems

c.) a coal miner’s autobiography

d.) a section providing supporting evidence in a larger work on MTR

17. In paragraph 1, the author mentions Lespedeza cuneata in order to…

a.) provide an example of the natural vegetation that grew on the mountains before MTR companies cleared the forests

b.) identify one type of plant that is likely to flourish on the newly-blasted mountaintops

c.) argue that the MTR companies are more interested in saving money than addressing the damage they have caused to the environment

d.) convince readers that the MTR companies’ attempts at replanting the forests may not be perfect, but they do represent a respectable effort

18. Which of the following statements from the passage represents an opinion, as opposed to a fact?

a.) “Although the mining companies have built structures known as ‘sludge dams’ that are intended to contain the toxic runoff, these dams can burst or leak, sending thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals into municipal drinking water.”

b.) “However, instead of bringing jobs and prosperity to poor Appalachian communities, MTR companies actually bring destruction and poverty.”

c.) “The overburden contains a variety of toxic substances, including explosive residue, silica, and coal dust.”

d.) “While the coal companies may make enormous profits from MTR, Appalachian communities located near the mines suffer increased rates of kidney cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, chronic pulmonary disorders, hypertension, and vision problems.”

19.

According to the passage, the way in which MTR companies dispose of the overburden is hazardous because…

I. the mining companies continue extracting coal from the overburden, thus putting additional pressure on the environment

II. the sludge dams are not a fail-safe containment system

III. MTR companies often dump toxic waste directly into the municipal water supply

a.) l only

b.) II only

c.) II and III only

d.) I, II, and III

20. Which piece of evidence, if true, would best strengthen the author’s argument in the final paragraph?

a.) Mining counties in West Virginia are some of the poorest in the nation.

b.) Less than 8% of the coal produced in the United States of America comes from MTR operations in the Appalachian Mountains. More than 400 mountaintops in Appalachia have been destroyed for this coal.

c.) MTR is a wholly unsustainable process; the reserves of coal located in the Appalachian Mountains will likely last less than 20 more years.

d.) Explosives detonated at strategic points along the summit can remove up to 400 vertical feet of mountain tops to reveal the rich coal seams below.