TASC Reading 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When an author uses a flashback, what are they doing?
- Predicting the future
- Interrupting the narrative to show an earlier event (Correct answer)
- Ending the story abruptly
- Describing the setting only
Correct answer: Interrupting the narrative to show an earlier event
A flashback interrupts the present timeline to depict an event from the past.
Question 2: What is the tone of a passage that uses words like 'gloomy,' 'desolate,' and 'hopeless'?
- Joyful
- Somber (Correct answer)
- Excited
- Humorous
Correct answer: Somber
Words like gloomy and hopeless create a somber, melancholy tone.
Question 3: A graphic showing data over years is best used to support which kind of claim?
- A claim about a trend or change over time (Correct answer)
- A claim about a character's feelings
- A claim about word definitions
- A claim about grammar rules
Correct answer: A claim about a trend or change over time
Data across years best illustrates trends or changes over time.
Question 4: What is a counterargument in an argumentative text?
- A repeat of the main point
- An opposing viewpoint the author addresses (Correct answer)
- The title of the essay
- A summary of the conclusion
Correct answer: An opposing viewpoint the author addresses
A counterargument is an opposing position that the author acknowledges and responds to.
Question 5: Which question best helps a reader evaluate a source's credibility?
- How long is the article?
- Is the author qualified and the information accurate? (Correct answer)
- What font is used?
- Is the title interesting?
Correct answer: Is the author qualified and the information accurate?
Credibility depends on the author's qualifications and the accuracy of the information.
Question 6: What does the phrase 'reading between the lines' refer to?
- Reading every other line
- Understanding implied meaning not directly stated (Correct answer)
- Reading aloud
- Skipping the conclusion
Correct answer: Understanding implied meaning not directly stated
It means grasping meaning that is implied rather than explicitly written.
Question 7: In a compare-and-contrast structure, the author primarily examines:
- Only one subject in detail
- Similarities and differences between subjects (Correct answer)
- A sequence of events in order
- A single cause and its effect
Correct answer: Similarities and differences between subjects
Compare-and-contrast structure highlights how subjects are alike and different.
TASC Reading 3
When an author uses a flashback, what are they doing?