PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A narrator describes a childhood home as 'smaller than memory had kept it, the paint peeling where laughter once echoed.' What does this passage primarily convey?
- The narrator regrets selling the house
- The passage of time has altered both the house and the narrator's perception of it (Correct answer)
- The house was poorly maintained from the beginning
- The narrator prefers the house as it looks now
Correct answer: The passage of time has altered both the house and the narrator's perception of it
The contrast between 'memory' and the diminished reality—plus the faded 'laughter'—signals that time has changed both the physical place and the narrator's idealized recollection of it.
Question 2: A passage reads: 'Scientists once dismissed the idea; today it anchors every textbook.' What does this sentence suggest about the idea?
- The idea is controversial and unproven
- The idea was always accepted by the public
- The idea gained credibility over time through evidence (Correct answer)
- Scientists are reluctant to change their views
Correct answer: The idea gained credibility over time through evidence
The shift from 'dismissed' to 'anchors every textbook' shows the idea moved from rejection to universal acceptance, implying evidence ultimately validated it.
Question 3: Which of the following is most likely a theme rather than a plot event?
- Maria climbs the mountain despite a sprained ankle
- The soldiers return home after a long campaign
- Perseverance in the face of hardship leads to self-discovery (Correct answer)
- The village floods after three days of rain
Correct answer: Perseverance in the face of hardship leads to self-discovery
A theme is a universal insight or message about human experience. 'Perseverance leads to self-discovery' is an abstract idea, while the other options describe specific events.
Question 4: In context, the word 'ambivalent' in 'she felt ambivalent about leaving her hometown' most nearly means:
- Excited and eager
- Having mixed or conflicting feelings (Correct answer)
- Completely opposed
- Deeply regretful
Correct answer: Having mixed or conflicting feelings
Ambivalent means holding contradictory emotions simultaneously—neither purely positive nor negative—which fits the nuanced feeling of leaving a hometown.
Question 5: An author opens an essay: 'Every solution we have tried has made the problem worse.' What is the author most likely trying to establish?
- That the problem has been solved repeatedly
- That no one has noticed the problem
- That current approaches are failing and a new perspective is needed (Correct answer)
- That the problem is too minor to address
Correct answer: That current approaches are failing and a new perspective is needed
By stating that every past solution worsened the problem, the author creates urgency and signals that a fundamentally different approach—likely the essay's argument—is required.
Question 6: A passage describes a scientist who 'published findings colleagues called reckless, yet a decade later those findings saved thousands of lives.' What does the passage imply about the scientist?
- The scientist was motivated by fame rather than discovery
- Premature peer rejection does not determine the ultimate value of an idea (Correct answer)
- Colleagues were right to question the findings initially
- Scientific progress depends entirely on peer approval
Correct answer: Premature peer rejection does not determine the ultimate value of an idea
The gap between initial criticism ('reckless') and eventual impact ('saved thousands') implies that peer consensus at one moment cannot measure the long-term worth of a discovery.
PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers Reading Comprehension 1
A narrator describes a childhood home as 'smaller than memory had kept it, the paint peeling where laughter once echoed.' What does this passage primarily convey?