Download READING COMPREHENSION PRACTICE TEST 2 Page 1 of 9 and more Summaries Public Policy in PDF only on Docsity!
Reading #1: Poverty — note that paragraphs are numbered
(1) On average, national income per adult has increased 60 percent in the U.S. since 1980, but most of those gains have accrued to those at the top. People at the bottom half of the income distribution are making, on average, $16,000, while the average pre-tax income of the top 1 percent of adults is about $1.3 million. In the 1980s, the top 1 percent of adults earned 27 times more than the bottom 50 percent. Now, they earn 81 times more.
(2) America is becoming a more unequal society. But does it matter that the rich are making more money than they once did?
(3) The problem is less with the existence of extreme wealth than with how it is created and preserved. For one thing, people at the top are able to use their ample resources to help their children get ahead and stay in their parents’ income bracket. People on the lower rungs of the economic ladder can’t access the same resources. As children make their way through the education system, their parents’ financial situation tends to inform how successful they are: A child with a nanny, access to pre-school, a tutor, and paid-for college tuition will likely have more professional success in life than a poor child.
(4) But it’s not just access to resources that’s important. Perhaps more important is the power the wealthy have in shaping societies. Because they have access to private schools, elite colleges, and homes in good neighborhoods, for example, wealthy parents have little incentive to back spending on public education, affordable housing, and other services they don’t use. Without support, these services fall by the wayside in poorer neighborhoods, yet it is those services that often do the most to increase social mobility: Access to early childhood education and good schools in safe neighborhoods have been shown, time and again, to improve children’s life prospects. In a higher inequality society, there is more of a chance that public policy will be skewed to reflect the preferences of those who have more voice.”
Reading #1 Questions: Poverty
- The statistics in paragraph #1 show that in the past forty years,
a. The rich have gotten richer but the poor haven’t become poorer. b. The gap between the rich and the poor has increased. c. The gap between the rich and the poor has decreased.
d. Tax laws have favored the rich.
- What does it mean in paragraph #3 when the author says, “The problem is less with the existence of extreme wealth than with how it is created and preserved”? a. That wealthy people are skilled at finding new investment opportunities b. That financial intelligence is key to life success c. More protection should exist for preserving everyon’s savings d. That creating and preserving wealth doesn’t typically benefit those who are less well off
- The author’s overall purpose is to show:
a. How the poor aren’t really at a disadvantage. b. How extreme wealth reinforces the cycle of poverty. c. The American Dream is still real. d. Social mobility is possible if only the poor pursue education.
- Which is more important, according to the author?
a. The power the rich have to decide public policy b. The resources the rich have to send their children to good schools
- The reason the poor tend to stay poor, according to the passage, is that:
a. They don’t try hard enough to succeed b. Public policy puts them at a disadvantage. c. They don’t know how to access the resources they need to succeed. d. They are raised to believe school isn’t important.
- The author poses the question, “But does it matter that the rich are making more money than they once did?” (Paragraph #2). The author’s answer to this question is: a. Yes b. No
- The author of the passage uses the phrase “endless, apparently irrelevant” (paragraph 1, sentence 5) in order to a. Show how some instructors give students too much work without any breaks b. Show why classes need to be more fun and playful c. Show why class meeting times need to be shorter to accommodate students’ limited attention spans d. Show why some students don’t take developmental classes seriously because the assignments they’ve been doing for years have seemed pointless
- Which best describes the relationship between the two paragraphs?
a. The first paragraph explains how too many students end up in developmental classes because their high schools didn’t prepare them for college, and the second paragraph explains how instructors should be tougher on these underprepared students. b. The first paragraph explains various emotional and intellectual causes of developmental students’ under-performance, and the second paragraph shows how instructors should address it. c. The first paragraph provides several examples of what instructors think of developmental students, and the second paragraph gives advice for how to improve the teacher-student relationship. d. The first paragraph shows the problems with college education, and the second paragraph proposes solutions.
- As presented in the first paragraph, a main challenge developmental students face is to:
a. Stay motivated and do their assignments to the best of their ability b. Manage their time so they can pass their classes despite work and family commitments c. Overcome their hatred of teachers in general d. Understand what will be expected of them in college
- The reason the author refers to students’ opting out of assignments and missing classes (paragraph 2, sentence 5) is to: a. Shame students for being slackers and not taking class seriously b. Give an example of which students should not be allowed to take college-level classes c. Warn developmental teachers to take action to prevent students from failing d. Warn developmental students not to lose motivation
Reading #3: Ketogenic diets — note that paragraphs are numbered
For this reading, be aware that there are two passages, each with a different perspective on the subject.
Passage 1
(1) Chances are you’ve heard of the ketogenic diet. It’s a high-fat, low-carbohydrate regiment that forces the body into “ketosis,” or a state of burning fat rather than sugar. Studies show that eating a ketogenic diet can lead to a reduced risk of heart disease, dramatic weight loss, and actual reversal of type 2 diabetes. However fashionable and desirable the ketogenic diet might seem, it’s not the only — or the most ethical — option for those looking to improve their health.
(2) Veganism, the complete avoidance of any product derived from animals, is another diet that offers comparable metabolic and cardiac benefits, and it has the added advantage of being cruelty-free. Many people misinterpret veganism as involving lots of grains and therefore lots of sugars, but that is not the case: vegans can get much of their daily protein from beans and nuts, which are rich in iron and fiber. Most importantly, individuals who follow a vegan diet do not consume the huge amounts of saturated fat consumed by those who follow a ketogenic diet.
Passage 2
(3) There’s an obesity epidemic in America, and it’s killing us. The Centers for Disease Control reports that a third of young adults and more than 40% of middle-aged Americans will develop heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or certain types of cancer as a result of being obese. What can be done to solve this problem? Simple: we need to systematically adopt a ketogenic lifestyle.
(4) The reason so many Americans are obese — the cause of most of the preventable, premature deaths in our country — is the carbohydrate-rich diet of the average American. We eat too many grains, and we intake too much sugar; instead we need animal-based proteins and fats. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, a high-fat, low- carbohydrate diet leads to rapid weight loss, a lowered risk of heart disease, and reversal of type 2 diabetes. However impractical the ketogenic diet might seem, it’s got to be more practical than dying from eating too many carbohydrates.
Reading #3 Questions: Ketogenic diets
Reading #4: Automated cars — note that paragraphs are numbered
(1) Nowadays even your toaster can be programmed to work in response to a voice command, so it should be no surprise that cars have been assigned the task of driving for us. It seems futuristic, but it now seems certain that cars and trucks will become fully automated. Is this a good thing?
(2) Self-driving cars — also known as driverless or autonomous cars — can scan their immediate surroundings and navigate without any human intervention. The obvious benefit to this technology is convenience, but even if travel becomes less costly and time-consuming, a number of unresolved problems such as safety and liability make this innovation largely undesirable. There are no legal frameworks or government regulations for autonomous vehicles, and driverless cars open up a world of catastrophic possibilities for cybercriminals such as hackers or terrorists.
(3) There are clear advantages to automated features such as speed control or emergency braking, but those are fundamentally distinct from the technology of full automation. Driver-assisted technology is a beneficial goal for automotive engineers, but it’s time to draw a line and insist that humans — not computers — should drive vehicles.
Reading #4Questions: Automated cars
- The author’s main argument can best be summarized as:
a. People have become too lazy if they can’t even drive their own cars. b. There are no laws that govern automated vehicles. c. The risks associated with self-driving cars far outweigh their benefits. d. Although convenient, self-driving cars would lead to an increase in terrorism.
- The first sentence of paragraph #3 has what function?
a. It admits that some technological advances in the automotive industry are desirable. b. It admits that some technological advances in the automotive industry are not desirable. c. It emphasizes the idea that the apparent advancements made in automation are wholly undesirable. d. It warns against the arrogant assumption that human-made computers could be perfect and provide perfect safety.
- Which best describes the purpose of paragraph #2?
a. To demonstrate that convenience will be a key feature that makes this technology successful. b. To establish the pros and cons of the issue and reveal the author’s position. c. To provide detailed evidence in support of the author’s claim. d. To challenge common assumptions about artificial intelligence.
- In paragraph #3, what’s the difference between “automated features” and “full automation”? a. Automated features allow the author to take a nap while in transit. b. Automated features offer assistance to a human driver, but full automation requires no driver. c. Automated features are dangerous while full automation is relatively safe. d. Automated features rely less on human decisions than full automation.
