2013 SSAT Reading Comprehension Practice Test Questions with Answers

The answers will be shown to you at the end.

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1. Directions: This section contains eight short reading passages. Each passage is followed by
several questions based on its content. Answer the questions is following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
You may write in your test booklet.

PASSAGE 1

One day, a thirsty fox fell into a well as she was getting a drink of water. She could not find a way to climb back up. After a short time, a thirsty goat came to the edge of the well, and seeing the fox below him, he asked if the water was safe to drink. Thinking quickly, the fox said the water was pure and delicious and suggested that
(5) the goat come down to have a drink. The goat immediately jumped into the well. After he had enough to drink, he asked the fox how he could get back up and out of the well. The fox replied, “I have a plan. Put your front legs against the wall, and hold your horns up. I will climb up your back, onto your horns, and then I will jump out of the well. Once I’m out, I’ll help you get out.” The goat agreed, and the fox quickly got out
(10) of the well. The goat called out to her: “Oh, Ms. Fox, you said you would help me get out of the well.” The fox called down to the goat, “Friend, if you had half as many brains as you have hairs on your chin, you would not have jumped into the well without first thinking about how you would get out.”

Question 1
The fox told the goat the water was pure and delicious because

A) she was afraid the goat would not drink it if she said it was bad

B) she was lonely and wanted company

C) she had thought of a plan to get out of the well

D) she had tasted it and knew that it was good

E) she wanted to be kind to the goat

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2. The fox’s last words suggest that she thinks the goat is

A) uncomfortable

B) unintelligent

C) clumsy

D) angry

E) amused

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3. All of the following describe the fox EXCEPT which word?

A) Lying

B) Selfish

C) Inconsiderate

D) Clever

E) Helpful

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4. The fox gets out of the well by

A) using the goat as a ladder

B) using a rope

C) jumping out

D) climbing up the walls

E) calling for help until someone comes

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5. The best way to state the lesson the fox’s last words suggest is

A) take advantage of opportunities

B) drink before you get too thirsty

C) all goats are foolish

D) think before you act

E) never trust a fox

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6. Passage 2

Some myths are stories told by early civilizations to explain the origins of natural phenomena. The Greek myth that explains the origin of the seasons is about Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. She had a daughter, Persephone, whom she loved very much. Hades, god of the underworld, fell in love with Persephone, ard he asked Zeus,
5) the ruler of the gods, to give Persephone to him as his wife. Zeus did not want to offend either Hades or Persephone, so he said he would not agree to the marriage, but neither would he forbid it. Hades, therefore, decided to take the girl without permission. As she was picking flowers in a meadow, he seized her and took her to the underworld. When Demeter found out what happened to Persephone, she became so angry that she
(10) caused all plants to stop growing. People were in danger of starving. But Demeter swore that no food would grow until Persephone was returned to her. Zeus, still not wanting to offend Hades, set a condition for Persephone’s return. She could go back to her mother if she had not eaten anything while she was in the underworld. Demeter did not know it, but Persephone had eaten several pomegranate seeds in the underworld.
(15) When Zeus discovered this, he permitted a compromise. Persephone could spend part of the year with her mother, but because she had eaten the seeds, she must spend part of the year in the underworld. And when Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter is sad, and therefore will not let the crops grow. That is why we have winter, when plants do not grow. When Persephone returns, Demeter is happy, it is spring, and
(20) plants begin to grow again.

Demeter is the goddess of

A) the underworld

B) the weather

C) marriage

D) humanity

E) food plants

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7. Myths are stories that

A) have a religious purpose

B) are always about gods and goddesses

C) explain the origin of the seasons

D) try to explain nature

E) tell about mysteries

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8. According to the story of Demeter, winter occurs because

A) Demeter disliked Hades

B) Hades stole Persephone from her mother

C) Persephone is unhappy

D) Zeus did not give Hades permission to marry Persephone

E) Demeter is sad

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9. Zeus did not give permission to Hades to marry Persephone because he

A) wanted Persephone to be his wife

B) disliked him

C) was the ruler of all the gods and goddesses

D) did not want to upset him

E) thought this might make Demeter angry

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10. Demeter stopped the growth of crops when

A) Persephone was returned to her

B) Zeus did not forbid the marriage

C) Hades took Persephone to the underworld

D) she discovered what Hades had done

E) Persephone ate some pomegranate seeds

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11. Passage 3

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
(5) My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
(10) To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
(15) And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

The speaker’s horse “must think it queer to stop” because

A) it is too cold

B) the horse is used to completing its journey

C) it is late at night

D) the horse is cold

E) they have run out of food

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12. What is the author’s purpose in repeating the last line twice?

A) To wake the reader.

B) To show the contrast between the village and the farm.

C) To add meaning to the word "sleep".

D) To catch the attention of the horse.

E) To reinforce the rhyme.

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13. The woods seem to have a special meaning for the speaker. Which is most likely?

A) He is thinking about their owner in the village.

B) They seem to pull him in.

C) He is interested in farming.

D) He wants to build a new house there.

E) He is interested in buying them.

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14. Which literary technique is used to define the relationship between the speaker and the
horse?

A) Exaggeration

B) Irony

C) Contrast

D) Rhyme

E) Alliteration

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15. The best meaning for “downy” in the article is

A) wind-swept

B) cold

C) soft

D) clean

E) frozen

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16. Passage 4

Compact discs (CDs) , which may he found in over 25 million American homes, not
to mention backpacks and automobiles, first entered popular culture in the 1980s. But
their history goes back to the 1960s, when an inventor named James Russel decided to
create an alternative to his scratched and warped phonograph records— a system that
(5) could record, store, and replay music without ever wearing out.

The result was the compact disc (CD). Made from 1.2 mm of polycarbonate
plastic, the disc is coated with a much thinner aluminum layer that is then protected
with a film of lacquer. The lacquer layer can be printed with a label. CDs are typically
120 mm in diameter, and can store about 74 minutes of music. There are also discs that
(10) can store 80, 90, 99 and 100 minutes of music, but they are not as compatible with
various stereos and computers as the 74-minute size.

The information on a standard CD is contained on the polycarbonate layer, as a
single spiral track of pits, starting at the inside of the disk and circling its way to the
outside. This information is read by shining light from a 780 nm wavelength
(15) semiconductor laser through the bottom of the polycarbonate layer. The light from the
laser follows the spiral track of pits, and is then reflected off either the pit or the
aluminum layer. Because the CD is read through the bottom of the disc, each pit looks
like a bump to the laser.

Information is read as the laser moves over the bumps (where no light will be
(20) reflected) and the areas that have no bumps, also known as land (where the laser light
will be reflected off the aluminum). The changes in reflectivity are interpreted by a
part of the compact disc player known as the detector. It is the job of the detector to
convert the information collected by the laser into the music that was originally
recorded onto the disc. This invention brought 22 patents to James Russell, who today
says he is working on an even better system for recording and playing back music.

According to the passage, why did James Russell invent the CD?

A) He was tired of turning over his records to hear both sides.

B) He wanted to record more music on a new format.

C) He wanted a purer, more durable sound than he could get from vinyl records.D) He was interested in getting patents.

D) He wanted to work with lasers.

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17. What would happen if the detector on a CD player malfunctioned?

A) The spiral track would not be read properly.

B) The pits and land would look like one unit.

C) The changes in reflectivity would be absorbed back into the laser.

D) The music would play backwards.

E) The information read by the laser would not be converted into music.

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18. Paragraph 3, explains all of the following EXCEPT

A) how the information on a CD is read

B) why semiconductor lasers were invented

C) where information is stored on a CD

D) what pits and bumps are

E) the purpose of the aluminum layer of a CD

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19. Passage 5

You know, of course, that in China the Emperor is a Chinaman, and all the people
around him are Chinamen too. It happened a good many years ago, but that’s just why
it’s worthwhile to hear the story, before it is forgotten. The Emperor’s palace was the
most splendid in the world; entirely and altogether made of porcelain, so costly, but so
(5) brittle, so difficult to handle that one had to be terribly careful. In the garden were to
be seen the strangest flowers, and to the most splendid of them silver bells were tied,
which tinkled so that nobody should pass by without noticing the flowers. Oh, the
Emperor’s garden had been laid out very smartly, and it extended so far that the
gardener himself didn’t know where the end was. If you went on and on, you came into
(10) the loveliest forest with high trees and deep lakes. The forest went right down to the
sea, which was blue and deep; tall ships could sail right in under the branches of the
trees; and in the trees lived a nightingale, which sang so sweetly that even the poor
fisherman, who had many other things to do, stopped still and listened when he had
gone out at night to take up his nets and then heard the nightingale.

—from The Nightingale by
Hans Christian Andersen

The author wants to tell this story

A) because he is a writer and storyteller

B) in order to describe the garden

C) before it is forgotten

D) to teach us about China

E) because he can't forget the nightingale

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20. The Emperor’s palace was made of

—from The Nightingale by
Hans Christian Andersen

A) porcelain

B) large stones and boulders

C) silver bells

D) high trees

E) brick

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21. Silver bells were tied to flowers in the garden to

—from The Nightingale by
Hans Christian Andersen

A) remind the gardener not to pick them

B) play soft melodies

C) frighten birds and mice away

D) sparkle in the sun

E) draw attention to their beauty

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22. The Emperor’s garden

—from The Nightingale by
Hans Christian Andersen

A) led into a lovely forest

B) housed a rare nightingale

C) was too large to care for

D) was a source of pleasure for all in the kingdom

E) was very strange

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23. The forest

—from The Nightingale by
Hans Christian Andersen

A) contained many rare animals

B) housed the nightingale

C) was a fisherman's hiding place

D) was an easy place in which to get lost

E) was dark and threatening

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24. Passase 6

The history of modern pollution problems shows that most have resulted from
negligence and ignorance. We have an appalling tendency to interfere with nature
before all of the possible consequences of our actions have been studied in depth. We
produce and distribute radioactive substances, synthetic chemicals, and many other
(5) potent compounds before fully comprehending their effects on living organisms. Our
education is dangerously incomplete.

It is often argued that the purpose of science is to move into unknown territory, to
explore, and to discover. It can be said that similar risks have been taken before, and
that these risks are necessary to technological progress.

(10) These arguments overlook an important element. In the past, risks taken in the
name of scientific progress were restricted to a small place and a brief period of time.
The effects of the processes we now strive to master are neither localized nor brief. Air
pollution covers vast urban areas. Ocean pollutants have been discovered in nearly
every part of the world. Synthetic chemicals spread over huge stretches of forest and
(15) farmland may remain in the soil for decades. Radioactive pollutants will be found in the
biosphere for generations. The size and persistence of these problems have grown with
the expanding power of modern science.

One might also argue that the hazards of modern pollutants are small compared to
the dangers associated with other human activity. No estimate of the actual harm done
(20) by smog, fallout, or chemical residues can obscure the reality that the risks are being
taken before being fully understood.

The importance of these issues lies in the failure of science to predict and control
human intervention into natural processes. The true measure of the danger is
represented by the hazards we will encounter if we enter the new age of technology
(25) without first evaluating our responsibility to the environment.

According to the author, the major cause of pollution is the result of

A) a lack of understanding of the history of technology

B) scientists who are too willing to move into unknown territory

C) changing our environment before understanding the effects of these changes

D) not passing enough laws

E) designing synthetic chemicals to kill living organisms

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25. The author believes that the risks taken by modern science are greater than those taken by
earlier scientific efforts because

A) science is progressing faster than ever before

B) the materials used are more dangerous to scientists

C) the problems are greater

D) technology has produced more dangerous chemicals

E) the effects may be felt by more people for a longer period of time

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26. The author apparently believes that the problem of finding solutions to pollution depends on

A) overcoming technical difficulties

B) the willingness of scientists to understand possible dangers before using new productsin the environment

C) the removal of al potential pollutants from their present uses

D) a new age of science that will repair the faults of our present technology

E) the removal of present hazards to the environment

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27. The author seems to feel that the attitude of scientists toward pollution has been

A) nonchalant

B) ignorant

C) concerned

D) confused

E) naive

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28. The word synthetic means

A) man-made

B) progressive

C) unsafe

D) polluting

E) new

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29. Passage 7

There were moments of waiting. The youth thought of the village street at home
before the arrival of the circus parade on a day in the spring. He remembered how he
had stood, a small thrillful boy, prepared to follow the band in its faded chariot. He saw
the yellow road, the lines of expectant people, and the sober houses. He particularly
(5) remembered an old fellow who used to sit upon a cracker box in front of the store and
pretend to despise such exhibitions. A thousand details of color and form surged in his
Mind.

Someone cried, “Here they come!” There was rustling and muttering among
the men.

(10) They displayed a feverish desire to have every possible cartridge ready to their
hands. The boxes were pulled around into various positions, and adjusted with great
care. The tall soldier, having prepared his rifle, produced a red handkerchief of some
kind. He was engaged in knitting it about his throat with exquisite attention to its

(15) position, when the cry was repeated up and down the line in a muffled roar of sound.

“Here they come! Here they come!” Gun locks clicked.

Across the smoke-infested fields came a brown swarm of running men who were
giving shrill yells. They came on, stooping and swinging their rifles at all angles. A
flag, tilted forward, sped near the front.

In the first paragraph, the youth is primarily concerned with

A) preparing for the upcoming battle

B) planning his day at the circus

C) watching a soldier tie a handkerchief

D) describing a turning point in his life

E) reliving a fond childhood memory

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30. What is meant by the exclamation “Here they come!” in line 8?

Someone cried, “Here they come!” There was rustling and muttering among
the men.

(15) position, when the cry was repeated up and down the line in a muffled roar of sound.

“Here they come! Here they come!” Gun locks clicked.

A) A group of men selling handkerchiefs is on its way.

B) The enemy soldiers are advancing.

C) The youth's family is arriving to save him.

D) The circus is coming to town.

E) A band in a chariot is approaching.

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31. The tone of the passage undergoes a change from the first to the second paragraph that can best be described as a movement from

Someone cried, “Here they come!” There was rustling and muttering among
the men.

(15) position, when the cry was repeated up and down the line in a muffled roar of sound.

“Here they come! Here they come!” Gun locks clicked.

A) informality to formality

B) anger to amusement

C) reminiscence to anticipation

D) respect to indifference

E) reluctance to fear

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32. According to the passage, all of the following are ways the soldiers prepare for battle
ЕХСЕРТ

Someone cried, “Here they come!” There was rustling and muttering among
the men.

(15) position, when the cry was repeated up and down the line in a muffled roar of sound.

“Here they come! Here they come!” Gun locks clicked.

A) saddling horses

B) gathering cartridges

C) positioning ammunition

D) priming their guns

E) tying handkerchiefs

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33. Why are the men in the last paragraph carrying a flag?

Someone cried, “Here they come!” There was rustling and muttering among
the men.

(15) position, when the cry was repeated up and down the line in a muffled roar of sound.

“Here they come! Here they come!” Gun locks clicked.

A) It is going to be burned in a public demonstration.

B) It is going to be raised in the youth's village.

C) It has been damaged and needs to be mended.

D) It needs to be protected from gunfire.

E) It represents the side they are fighting for.

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34. Passage 8

The cowboy of the American West is an enduring icon in popular culture, but
Hawaiian cowboys predated their American counterparts by several decades. In 1792.
King Kamehameha the Great of Hawaii received gifts of beef cattle, goats, sheep, and
horses, from Captain George Vancouver. The introduction of these unfamiliar animals
(5) caused unrest among the native islanders, because the unruly animals often trampled
the crops in their fields. Initially, the king protected his imports from wrathful
Hawaiians under kapu laws. But in 1830, Kamehameha Il decided to hire a few Spanish
vaqueros from California to keep the animals under control. Soon the Hawaiians were
riding, roping, and lassoing alongside the Spanish cowboys.

It can be inferred from the passage that the American cowboy _

A) emerged in the West later than his counterpart in Hawaii

B) was not able to lasso as weft as the Hawaiian cowboy

C) taught the Hawaiians how to ride and lasso

D) accompanied the shipment of horses and cattle to Hawaii

E) did not understand the Hawaiians' opposition to horses

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35. According to the passage, all of the following are true about horses and cattle EXCEPT

A) they were destructive to Hawaiian property

B) they were found to be too expensive to import

C) they were unfamiliar to Hawaiians before 1792

D) they were introduced to Hawaii in the 18th century

E) they were protected by Hawaiian law

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36. According to the passage, the Hawaiian cowboys
I . were taught to ride by the Spanish vaqueros
I . existed earlier than the American cowboys
Il. proved better at roping and lassoing than their American counterparts

A) I only

B) Il only

C) I and Il only

D) I and Il only

E) I , Il and I

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37. This passage is primarily about

A) the Spanish relationship with Hawaii

B) the history of horses in Hawaii

C) the introduction of cowboys to Hawaii

D) the roping of cattle

E) the history of King Kamehameha

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38. The attitude of the writer toward the subject is

A) neutral

B) confused

C) elated

D) biased

E) condescending

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39. As it is used in line 6, “wrathful” most nearly means

A) vengeful

B) accommodating

C) confused

D) tolerant

E) enraged

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40. Which of the following questions is NOT answered by the passage?

A) What effect did the vaqueros have on the animals?

B) What can be implied about the author's attitude toward the cowboys?

C) For how many years did the animals cause unrest in Hawaii?

D) How did the king use kapu laws in Hawaii to protect animals?

E) How did Hawaiians view Capt. George Vancouver's gifts?

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2013 SSAT Reading Comprehension Practice Test Questions with Answers

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