PARCC Reading Comprehension Practice Test
1. The 16th century was an age of great ______ exploration.
1. B: "Terrestrial" means land. No choice here offers a synonym for "marine," e.g. nautical/naval/water/seagoing, and no other choices match either marine or terrestrial.
2. Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political ________.
2. A: "Quagmire" means literally a bog or marsh, and figuratively an involved situation difficult to escape; entanglement is a synonym, more specifically similar than the other choices.
3. The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one side or the other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _________ direction.
3. A: Longitudes are imaginary geographical lines running north and south. Latitudes run east and west. The other choices do not equal either latitude or longitude in direction.
4. One of Magellan's ships explored the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.
4. C: Topography means the physical features of a land mass. It does not mean coastline (A), mountain range (B), or islands (D).
5. Four of the ships sought a passage along a southern ______.
5. C: A peninsula is a piece of land connected to the mainland by an isthmus and projecting into the ocean such that it is surrounded on three sides by water. A peninsula is not a coast (A); it is not found inland (B); and it is not a border (D).
6. The passage was found near 50 degrees S of ________.
6. B: The passage was found near 50 degrees S latitude. Latitudes are measured horizontally, in relation to the equator or central imaginary line, equidistant between the North and South Poles. Longitudes are measured vertically. Greenwich (A), the location of zero degrees longitude, adopted as the global standard, is both incorrect and never named in the passage. Spain (C), Portugal (D), and Madrid (E) in Spain are also incorrect.
7. In the spring of 1521, the ships crossed the _______ now called the International Date Line.
7. A: Meridians are imaginary geographical circles intersecting the poles. Imaginary lines parallel to the equator (B) are latitudes. The International Date Line is a specific meridian, not an area (C). It is not a land mass (D) as it crosses both water and land.