MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

This is a Primary test administered to determine your baseline

knowledge and preparedness for an educational experience or course
of study.

STEM OPTION
Direction: On the next topic, you are going to learn how to read a text
critically. Answer the following question to practice your comprehension.
Choose the letter of the correct answer. Each correct answer corresponds
with 2 points.

1. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Brad Taylor, the star quarterback, is injured this season.

The team does not expect to make the playoffs.

How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?

a. It analyzes the first statement.
b. It gives an effect.
c. It gives an example.
d. It contradicts the first statement.

2. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Carrots and apples are very healthy foods.

Dietitians often eat these foods and recommend them to patients.

How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?

a. It supports the first sentence.
b. It gives a solution to the first sentence.
c. It parrots the first sentence.
d. It disagrees with the first sentence.

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

3. Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the
question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

Many people have owned, or have heard of, traditional “piggy banks,” coin
banks shaped like pigs. A logical theory about how this tradition started might be
that because pigs often symbolize greed, the object is to “fatten” one’s piggy bank
with as much money as possible.
However, while this idea makes sense, it is not the correct origin of the term.
The genesis of the piggy bank is the old English word “pygg,” which was a common
kind of clay hundreds of years ago in England. People used pots and jars made
out of this red “pygg” clay for many different purposes in their homes. Sometimes
they kept their money in one of the pots, and this was known as a pygg bank. Over
the years, because “pygg” and “pig” sounded the same, glaziers began making
novelty banks out of pottery in the shape of a pig as a kind of joke. These banks
were given as gifts and exported to countries where people spoke other languages
and where no one had ever heard of pygg clay. The tradition caught on all over the
world, and today piggy banks come in all colors and are made of all kinds of
materials, including plastic.

This passage is mainly about what?

a. An unusual custom got started.
b. A common term originated in a surprising way.
c. People in England made pottery centuries ago.
d. People in different countries save their money.

4. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Sometimes when we don‘t get enough sleep we become very short-tempered.

It is important to set a time to go to bed that is realistic.

How are these two sentences related?

a. The first sentence explains the meaning of the second.
b. The second sentence contradicts the first.
c. The second sentence explains why a lack of sleep affects us.
d. The second sentence proposes a solution.

5. Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the
question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

In 1970 about sixty small and medium-sized factories in the United States
adopted a four-day workweek. According to the plan, workers work forty hours but
instead of the usual five-day week, they now work only four days. Workers are
enthusiastic about the three-day weekly vacation. According to management,
productivity has increased about 18% since the inception of the new plan.
Absenteeism has dropped by 69% and lateness is almost non-existent.

The passage suggests that a four-day workweek may result in

________________________?
a. 40 hour workweeks for factory workers.
b. Increased productivity, enthusiasm, and attendance.
c. Significant changes in the 1970s.
d. 69% lateness or absenteeism among workers.

6. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Studies show that the prevalence of fast-food restaurants corresponds with the
rates of obesity in both children and adults.
Obesity is now on the rise in countries where fast-food restaurants are becoming
more common.

How do the two sentences relate?

a. They present problems and solutions.
b. They establish a contrast.
c. They contradict each other.
d. They express roughly the same idea.

7. Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the
question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.

There are two kinds of jewelry that I do. There is commercial jewelry -- class
rings, necklaces, the kinds of things most people wear. I sell these items to meet
my expenses for raw materials, supplies, and to make my living. The other, more
creative work I do makes me feel that I am developing as a craftsperson.

The author of this passage implies that ________________________?

a. There is no market for creative work.
b. Rings and necklaces cannot be creative.
c. Commercial and creative work fulfills different needs for the artist.
d. Artists are poor.

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

8. Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the
question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
The smaller a group is, the more opportunities we have to get to know other
people well and to establish close ties with them. Two-person groups are the
setting for many of our most intense and influential relationships.
In three-person groups, coalitions become possible, with two members
joining force against a third member. Five-person groups are large enough so that
people feel they can express their emotions freely and even risk antagonizing one
another, yet they are small enough so that members show regard for one another’s
feelings and needs.

This passage’s main idea is that ________________________?

a. A five-person group is better than a two-person group.
b. Groups play a central part in every human activity, within family, the
workplace, and the government.
c. The number of people in a group affects relationships within the group.
d. Two-person groups are an important part of our lives.

9. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Social studies classes focus on the complexity of our social environment.

The subject combines the study of history and the social sciences and promotes
skills in citizenship.

What does the second sentence do?

a. It proposes a solution.
b. It makes a contrast.
c. It expands on the first sentence.
d. It states an effect.

10. Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or
the best completion of the statement.

Most people collect Star Wars toys for sentimental reasons.

Some people collect them strictly to make money.

What is the relationship between the two sentences?

a. The first sentence is the cause, and the second sentence is the effect.
b. The second sentence contrasts the first sentence.

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 MODULE: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

c. The second sentence repeats the idea of the first sentence.

d. The first sentence states an idea, and the second sentence explains that
idea.

CHAPTER 2: READING TEXT CRITICALLY 5