Reading Comprehension Flashcards

A passage about public health states: 'Access to nutritious food is unevenly distributed across income levels.' Which evidence best supports this claim?

Answer: A study showing high-income neighborhoods have 3× more grocery stores per capita than low-income ones

The disparity in grocery store density directly supports the claim that nutritious food access varies by income level.

The central argument of a passage can best be described as the:

Answer: Main claim the author is trying to establish throughout the text

The central argument is the overarching claim the author develops and supports across the entire passage.

A passage uses the phrase 'rising tide of automation.' This phrase is an example of:

Answer: A metaphor comparing automation to a natural force

Comparing automation to a rising tide is a metaphor that implies it is powerful, widespread, and difficult to stop.

An author writing in 1920 states that 'women's entry into the workforce is a passing trend.' A modern reader encounters this in a historical passage. The statement is best understood as:

Answer: A historically held assumption that events have proven incorrect

Women's sustained and growing workforce participation since 1920 demonstrates that the author's claim was a historical assumption, not fact.

A paragraph begins with a topic sentence and ends with: 'These exceptions, however, do not invalidate the broader pattern.' The final sentence primarily functions to:

Answer: Acknowledge counterexamples while defending the main claim

The sentence concedes that exceptions exist but argues they don't undermine the overall conclusion, a common concession-and-rebuttal move.

Which choice most effectively uses evidence from a passage to support the interpretation that the author views technology as a double-edged sword?

Answer: Citing lines where the author acknowledges both technological benefits and harms

Evidence of a 'double-edged sword' interpretation must include both positive and negative perspectives from the author.

In a literary passage, a character described as 'stoic' most likely:

Answer: Remains calm and shows little outward emotion

Stoic refers to suppressing or not outwardly displaying emotions, originating from the philosophical tradition valuing self-control.