NM-MSSA Reading Comprehension 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the context clues strategy in reading?
- Using a dictionary to find word definitions
- Using surrounding text to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word (Correct answer)
- Asking a teacher for help with difficult words
- Skipping unknown words and continuing to read
Correct answer: Using surrounding text to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word
Context clues involve using the words and sentences surrounding an unknown word to determine its meaning without stopping to look it up.
Question 2: In literary texts, 'point of view' refers to:
- The setting where the story takes place
- The conflict between main characters
- The perspective from which the story is told (Correct answer)
- The theme or central message of the story
Correct answer: The perspective from which the story is told
Point of view refers to the narrator's perspective — whether first person (I/we), second person (you), or third person (he/she/they).
Question 3: What is the theme of a literary text?
- The sequence of events in the story
- The central message or life lesson the author conveys (Correct answer)
- The main character's personality traits
- The setting and time period of the story
Correct answer: The central message or life lesson the author conveys
The theme is the central message or universal truth that the author communicates through the story's events, characters, and conflicts.
Question 4: Which type of text structure would BEST explain why hurricanes form?
- Description
- Compare and Contrast
- Cause and Effect (Correct answer)
- Sequence
Correct answer: Cause and Effect
Cause and effect text structure explains the reasons something happens (causes) and the results (effects), making it ideal for explaining hurricane formation.
Question 5: When a reader 'visualizes' while reading, they are:
- Looking up words in the dictionary
- Creating mental images of what they read (Correct answer)
- Writing notes about the text's main ideas
- Reading aloud to hear the words clearly
Correct answer: Creating mental images of what they read
Visualization is a reading strategy where readers create mental pictures of what is described in the text to deepen understanding and memory.
Question 6: Which type of figurative language gives human qualities to non-human things?
- Simile
- Hyperbole
- Metaphor
- Personification (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Personification
Personification assigns human characteristics, emotions, or actions to non-human objects, animals, or abstract concepts.
Question 7: What is a claim in an argumentative text?
- The evidence provided to support the argument
- The counterargument presented by the opposition
- The author's main assertion or position on a topic (Correct answer)
- The concluding paragraph that wraps up the essay
Correct answer: The author's main assertion or position on a topic
A claim is the author's central assertion or main argument — the position they are taking and defending throughout the text.
NM-MSSA Reading Comprehension 2
What is the context clues strategy in reading?