TSI Literary and Informational Texts 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence best states the main idea of a paragraph that describes recycling rates, landfill growth, and ocean pollution?
- Waste management has become a pressing environmental concern (Correct answer)
- Recycling bins are usually blue
- Oceans cover most of the Earth's surface
- Landfills are located outside cities
Correct answer: Waste management has become a pressing environmental concern
The unifying idea connecting all the details is the broader problem of waste management.
Question 2: An author writes, "The old house wore its peeling paint like a tattered coat." This figurative language is best classified as a:
- Simile (Correct answer)
- Metaphor
- Pun
- Idiom
Correct answer: Simile
The comparison uses 'like,' making it a simile.
Question 3: A persuasive editorial cites a respected scientist's findings to support its claim. This appeals primarily to the reader's sense of:
- Credibility and authority (ethos) (Correct answer)
- Pity (pathos)
- Humor
- Rhyme
Correct answer: Credibility and authority (ethos)
Quoting a respected expert builds credibility, which is an appeal to ethos.
Question 4: In context, the word "novel" in "the engineers proposed a novel solution" most nearly means:
- New or original (Correct answer)
- A work of fiction
- Ordinary
- Expensive
Correct answer: New or original
Here 'novel' is an adjective meaning new or original, not the noun for a book.
Question 5: A story's events take place during a brutal famine that shapes every character's choices. The famine functions as the story's:
- Setting and source of conflict (Correct answer)
- Narrator
- Rhyme scheme
- Title
Correct answer: Setting and source of conflict
The famine establishes the setting and drives the central conflict of the story.
Question 6: An informational text is organized by first describing a problem, then several proposed remedies. This text structure is best described as:
- Problem and solution (Correct answer)
- Chronological order
- Spatial order
- Compare and contrast
Correct answer: Problem and solution
Presenting an issue followed by remedies is the problem-and-solution structure.
Question 7: Which detail would best support the claim that a town's economy depends on tourism?
- Most local jobs are in hotels and restaurants serving visitors (Correct answer)
- The town was founded in 1850
- The mayor was recently re-elected
- Winters in the town are cold
Correct answer: Most local jobs are in hotels and restaurants serving visitors
Employment tied directly to visitors is the strongest evidence of a tourism-based economy.
TSI Literary and Informational Texts 3
Which sentence best states the main idea of a paragraph that describes recycling rates, landfill growth, and ocean pollution?