PART II – ANALYZING TEST ITEMS

A. Sample Test Items

Directions: Read the portion of a proposal on smoking written below. Then decide who could have
written each proposal. Choose and copy the letter of the best answer for each item.

1. Proposal A:
I strongly propose that colleges and universities allow smoking among students in the campus during
break as a way of easing pressure and tension caused by heavy academic demands.
A. a psychologist C. a student who smokes
B. a parent D. a student leader
This is a question on critical thinking, specifically on noting point of view. The proposal requires sensitivity to the speaker’s
word choice and stand on the issue. The words campus, break, academic pressure and tension suggest that a person is very
familiar with college life, and the stand is not against, but for smoking. Although choices A, B, and D are also familiar with
university life, not all of them would fight for smoking. The best answer is C – the one who is a university student and who
smokes would be the mostlikely to propose the idea.

2. Proposal B.
Smoking increases the chances of having fire accidents not only in schools but also in all public places
– parks, hotels, market, and villages. It could be a way of endangering the lives of people whose
interest the government has promised to serve and protect.
A. a physician C. a fire chief
B. a store owner D. a teacher
The analysis done in 1 can be used here, too. Word choice will give a clue as to who is speaking – words such as accidents,
places, markets, hotels, government, serve, and protect. Take note that the person’s stand is not for, but against smoking.
Choice A, physician will not talk about the risks of smoking in this manner and perhaps would not encourage smoking. Choice
B, store owner, might cite other reasons and might be ambivalent about the issue – either to fight for or against smoking. A
teacher, choice D, might not advocate smoking, but will offer different explanations. The best answer is choice C. Among the
choices, only a fire chief would explain reasons the way it was done in the proposal because of which smoking is not viewed
positively.

3. How would a tobacco grower explain the reason of the proposal for smoking?
A. Smoking indirectly boosts the country’s economy.
B. Smoking relaxes the nerves and this helps control negative emotions.
C. Smoking has always been a part of male identity and superiority over women.
D. Smoking benefits the people who consider the plant as their source of income.
This is a thinking skill question which requires an analysis of the person’s character as basis for identifying perspective and
point of view. Notice that the person involved is a tobacco grower who would encourage smoking for business reasons.
Choice A is perhaps from an economist’s view, while choice B could be made by a plain smoker trying to justify the act.
Choice C might be a statement by a sociologist talking about gender issues. Choice D is the correct answer because the
tobacco grower depend on the plant for a living, and so he/she airs a view from a business or labor perspective.

B. Practice Test
Read the selection and answer the questions that follow. Write only the letter of the best answer for
each item.

1 For all his ability to travel over a sandy desert without water, the camel has a nasty temper and the spirit of revenge. He’s not
happy until he pays back a wrong, actual or seeming. Knowing this, camel drivers and others who use camels a lot have devised an interesting
way of letting the camel settle his scores without the person getting hurt.
2 When a driver has made a camel angry in some way or other, he immediately runs out of sight. He hides near the road on which
the camel will pass. He then takes off his clothes and throws them down on a heap, which vaguely resembles a sleeping person.
3 Along comes the camel. He sees and smells the clothed of the one who hurt him. Then he pounces upon the pile, shakes every
piece and tramples all over everything. Satisfied, he walks away. The driver comes out of hiding, mounts the avenged beast, and rides off.
4 It makes one think of the baby who bumps its head against the leg of the table, turns around, and hits the leg in punishment.

From 1000 Stories You Can Use by Frank Mihalic

 1. What is the passage mostly about?
A. a camel and his driver
B. a driver’s way to trick an angry camel
C. a camel’s attitude when angry
D. a driver’s device to control anger
2. Who is referred to by the pronoun he in paragraph 1, sentence 2?
A. Driver B. Camel C. Person D. Cloth
3. Who is referred to by the pronoun he in paragraph 2?
A. Driver B. Camel C. Anger D. Sight
4. How does the writer regard the camel?
A. With respect and care C. With humility and love
B. With fear and love D. With contempt and criticism
5. What does the writer think about the camel’s driver?
A. The driver is wise and clever
B. The driver is a fool
C. The driver is loving and kind
D. The driver is a friend of a camel
6. What is implied by the statement, “He’s not happy until he pays back a wrong actual or
seeming”?
A. The camel does not forgive any offense
B. The camel never stops seeking revenge
C. The camel pays for his happiness by doing the right thing
D. The camel’s happiness is making right the wrong done against him.
7. What happens after the camel has trampled all over the clothes of the driver?
A. The camel walks away
B. The camel smells the clothes.
C. The driver comes out of hiding.
D. The driver walks away from the camel.
A study made a number of years ago said the more education a man has, the less likely he is to be an inventor. Now, the
reason for that is quite simple. From the time the boy or girl starts in school, he or she is examined three or four times a
year, and of course, it is very, very disastrous if he/she fails. An inventor fails all the time and it is a triumph if he succeeds
once. Consequently, if education is an inhibition to invention, it is due entirely to the form by which we rate things and not
because of any intellectual differential.
I can take any group of young people any place, and teach them to be inventors, if I can get them to throw off the hazard of
being afraid to fail. You fail because your ideas are not right you would not be afraid to fail, but you should learn to fail
intelligently. BY that I mean, when you fail, find out why you failed and each time you fail it will bring you nearer to your
goal.
- From 100 Stories You can Use by Frank Mihalic

8. What relationship is shown between education and invention?

A. The former is the cause of the latter
B. Education is not useful for the inventor
C. One’s education guarantees an invention
D. Education does not encourage a person to be an inventor
9. According to the selection, what is true about an inventor?
A. An inventor succeeds in all endeavors
B. An inventor always succeeds in the first attempt
C. An inventor gives up on the first failure of the experiment
D. An inventory experiences failures several times before he/she succeeds.
10. How are the ideas mentioned in this statement connected, “If education is an inhibition to
invention, it is due entirely to the form by which we rate things”?
A. The sentence enumerates reasons for inventions
B. The sentence conveys the result of being uneducated
C. The sentence compares education an invention
 D. The sentence gives cause-effect relationship between education and invention.
11. What is the writer’s view about failure?
A. It is disastrous
B. It is an inhibition to invention
C. It hinders one’s desire to succeed
D. It helps people to learn and get near their goal
12. What could be the message of the selection?
A. Success comes to those who persevere
B. Failure reflects one’s limited intellect
C. Success brings pride to one’s country
D. Failure stops people from inventing things
It is said:
That there is hardly a bar of music which Beethoven did not rewrite at least a dozen times.
That Bryant rewrote THANATOPSIS a hundred times.
That Gibbon rewrote his AUTOBIOGRAPHY nine times.
That is Plato wrote the first sentence of his REPUBLIC nine times.
That Virgil spent 12 years writing his AENEID.
- From 100 Stories You Can Use by Frank Mihalic

13. What does the word bar mean in the selection?

A. A vertical line drawn to show division of notes
B. A strip of wood used for obstruction
C. A gate closing a road
D. A railing in a court
14. What could be the reason for capitalizing some words in the selection?
A. They show the importance of greatness
B. The reflect insights on human nature
C. They stand for concepts difficult to understand
D. They represent great works of persistent people.
15. What could be inferred about the people mentioned in the selection?
A. They are gifted with power
B. They are admired for who they are
C. They are born to succeed in life
D. They are recognized in their discipline
16. Which is the best statement that tells the main idea of the selection?
A. One’s greatness is the product of brilliance
B. Perseverance makes one reach his or her goal
C. Success is measured by one’s effortless creation.
D. Success is for every person who waits for it patiently
The Cook’s Prayer

Lord of all the pots and pans and things,

Since I’ve no time to be
A saint by doing lovely things,
Or watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the dawnlight,
Or storming heaven’s gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals
And washing up the plates.

From 1000 Stories You can Use by Frank Mihalic

17. Who is speaking in the poem?
A. A saint B. The Lord C. A cook D. A wife
18. Which of the following tells what the speaker does?
A. Watches late at night
B. Dreams in the dawnlight
 C. Storms heaven’s gate
D. Washes up the plates
19. How does the speaker in the poem regard the saints?
A. With admiration
B. With compassion
C. With understanding
D. With sympathy
20. What do the last two lines mean? The speaker is saying that he ________
A. Be given patience so he can do his work
B. Likes his job and praying to his saints
C. Wants to be a saint of pots and pans
D. Does not like to work at night
Chance walked through the rooms, which seemed empty; the heavily curtained windows barely admitted the
daylight. Slowly he looked at the large pieces of furniture shrouded on old linen covers, and at the veiled mirrors. The words
that the Old Man had spoken to him the first time had wormed their way into his memory like firm roots. Chance was an
orphan, and it was the Old Man himself who had sheltered him in the house ever since Chance was a child. Chance’s mother
had died when he was born. No one, not even the Old Man, would tell him who his father was. While some could learn to
read and write, Chance would never be able to manage this. Nor would he ever be able to understand much of what others
were saying to him or around him. Chance was to work in the garden, where he would care for plants and grasses and trees
which grew there peacefully. He would be as one of them: quiet, open hearted in the sunshine and heavy when it rained. His
name was Chance because he was born by chance. He had no family. Although his mother had been very pretty, her mind
had been as damaged as his; soft soil of his brain, the ground from which his thoughts shot up, had been ruined forever.
Therefore, he could not look for a place in the life to his quarter and to the garden; he must not enter the other parts of the
household or walk out into the street. His food would always be brought to his room by Louise, who would be the only
person to see Chance and talk to him. No one else was allowed to enter Chance’s room. Only the Old Man himself might
walk and sit in the garden. Chance would do exactly what he was told or else he would be sent to a special home for the
insane where, the Old Man said, he would be locked in a cell and forgotten.
Chance did what he was told so did black Louise.
-Excerpted from Being There by Jerzy Kosinski

21. “It was the Old Man himself who had sheltered him in the house since Chance was a child.”
What does this suggest about their relationship?
The Old Man was Chance’s
A. Guardian C. father
B. Brother D. landlord
22. What would most likely happen to Chance if he were to venture outside the house?
A. He would be locked up in a cell and forgotten.
B. He would end up in a special home for the insane.
C. He would develop a successful gardening business.
D. He would not understand the world around him
23. Which of the following paragraph details does not support the conclusion that Chance is very
limited in his abilities?
A. While some could learn to read and write, Chance would never be able to manage this.
B. Nor would he ever be able to understand much of what others were saying ... around him
C. Chance was to work in the garden, where he would care for plants and grasses and trees.
D. … he must not enter other parts of the household or walk out into the streets.
24. From the details of the passage, what type of person may Chance be compared to?
A. An insane adult C. ungrateful son
B. An unhappy teenager D. An obedient child
25. What is the overall purpose of the passage from this novel?
A. Compare and contrast the characters of the Old Man and Chance
B. Provide a background description of Chance and his life
C. Explain the heredity (similar disabilities) of Chance’s mother
D. Promote the health benefits of peaceful gardening