Free NBT Academic Literacy Questions and Answers 3

Question 1

A student encounters the word "ameliorate" in a passage. Based on the context sentence "The new policy was designed to ameliorate living conditions in low-income areas," what does "ameliorate" most likely mean?

Accepted Answer

Improve

Answer

"Ameliorate" means to make something bad or unsatisfactory better. The context — a policy designed to affect low-income living conditions — strongly suggests a positive change, pointing to "improve."

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of a primary source?

Accepted Answer

The original diary of a historical figure

Answer

A primary source is an original, first-hand account or artefact, such as a diary, original research data, photographs, or historical documents. Secondary sources, like textbooks, analyse or summarise primary sources.

Question 3

Read the following and identify the logical fallacy: "Everyone is switching to solar energy, so it must be the best option." This is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Bandwagon fallacy

Answer

The bandwagon fallacy (argumentum ad populum) assumes something is correct or good simply because many people do or believe it. Popularity is not evidence of correctness.

Question 4

In the sentence "The lecture, which was three hours long, covered several complex topics," the clause "which was three hours long" is:

Accepted Answer

A non-restrictive relative clause

Answer

Non-restrictive relative clauses add extra information that is not essential to identifying the noun. They are set off by commas. Removing "which was three hours long" does not change the core meaning of the sentence.

Question 5

A passage argues that social media negatively affects academic performance. Which evidence would MOST strongly support this claim?

Accepted Answer

A peer-reviewed study showing a negative correlation between screen time and grades across 10,000 students

Answer

Strong academic evidence is peer-reviewed, uses large sample sizes, and establishes relevant correlations. The study with 10,000 students directly addresses the claim and meets these criteria.

(NBT) National Benchmark Test Practice Test

(NBT) National Benchmark Test Practice Test

Free NBT Academic Literacy Questions and Answers 3