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STEP English practice questions

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Question 1Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The town council voted to remove the old bandstand from the park. Supporters of the plan said the structure was unsafe and seldom used. Opponents argued that it had hosted summer concerts for fifty years and formed part of the town's identity. In the end, the council agreed to dismantle the bandstand but to rebuild a smaller replica on the same site. Which option best states the main idea of the passage?

  1. A council resolved a dispute by compromise. Correct answer.
  2. A town's bandstand was demolished because it was unsafe.
  3. Residents protested against the council's decision to remove a landmark.
  4. Summer concerts in the park have been cancelled permanently.

Explanation

The passage reports two opposing views and then describes the council's final decision, which partly satisfies each side. A main-idea statement must cover the whole passage, including both the disagreement and its resolution, not just one detail.

Question 2Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The recipe calls for two cups of flour, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of sugar. The dough must rest for at least an hour before it is rolled out. Bake at 200°C for twenty minutes, then cool on a wire rack. According to the passage, what must happen before the dough is rolled out?

  1. It must be baked.
  2. Salt and sugar must be added separately.
  3. It must rest for at least an hour. Correct answer.
  4. It must be cooled on a rack.

Explanation

The passage states directly that the dough must rest for at least an hour before it is rolled out. Baking and cooling occur after rolling out, not before.

Question 3Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The negotiations proceeded at a glacial pace; after three days the delegates had still not agreed on the wording of the first clause. As used in the passage, "glacial" most nearly means:

  1. dangerously unstable
  2. surprisingly cheerful
  3. extremely cold in temperature
  4. very slow Correct answer.

Explanation

The semicolon introduces a clause explaining the metaphor: after three days only the first clause had been discussed. This context shows that "glacial pace" refers to slowness, not to literal cold.

Question 4Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Maria handed the letter to her brother, who read it twice before folding it and placing it in his pocket. In the phrase "placing it in his pocket", what does "it" refer to?

  1. the brother
  2. his pocket
  3. the letter Correct answer.
  4. Maria's hand

Explanation

Pronouns refer back to the nearest suitable noun phrase. The brother reads the letter, folds the letter, and puts the letter in his pocket; the other nouns cannot be folded.

Question 5Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Notice: The library will close at 5 p.m. on Friday for staff training. Books may be returned through the after-hours chute. We apologise for any inconvenience. The main purpose of the notice is to:

  1. explain a change in hours Correct answer.
  2. advertise newly stocked books
  3. apologise for damaged books
  4. announce a staff vacancy

Explanation

The notice informs users that the library will shut earlier than usual on Friday. The apology and the mention of the chute are supporting details that help users cope with that change.

Question 6Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The critic dismissed the novel as "a triumph of marketing over literature", noting that its glossy cover and celebrity endorsements far outshone its thin plot. The critic's tone is best described as:

  1. nostalgic
  2. neutral
  3. admiring
  4. scornful Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase "a triumph of marketing over literature" and the contrast between the glossy cover and the "thin plot" express contempt. The critic is mocking the novel rather than praising or merely describing it.

Question 7Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. When Ellen arrived at the station, the platform was empty and the departure board was blank. She checked her watch and sat down on the cold bench. Which option is best supported as an inference from the passage?

  1. The station is closed for repairs.
  2. Ellen has forgotten to check the departure board.
  3. Ellen has missed her train.
  4. She has arrived before the train is due. Correct answer.

Explanation

Sitting down after checking her watch suggests waiting rather than departure. An empty platform and blank board fit a train that has not yet been announced or arrived.

Question 8Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Honeybees communicate the location of food through a "waggle dance". The angle of the dance relative to vertical indicates the direction of the food source, while the duration of the waggle conveys distance. According to the passage, what does the duration of the waggle indicate?

  1. the type of flower
  2. the number of bees
  3. the direction of food
  4. the distance to food Correct answer.

Explanation

The final clause explicitly pairs the duration of the waggle with distance. Direction is signalled by the angle of the dance, a separate feature.

Question 9Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Historians once portrayed the invention of the printing press as a sudden revolution that instantly transformed Europe. More recent scholarship, however, emphasises that printed books circulated alongside manuscripts for decades, and that the press's influence depended on existing networks of trade, literacy, and patronage. The passage is primarily concerned with:

  1. explaining why literacy declined in early modern Europe
  2. qualifying an earlier view of the printing press's impact Correct answer.
  3. describing the technical workings of early printing presses
  4. arguing that manuscripts were superior to printed books

Explanation

The passage sets an older "sudden revolution" account against newer work stressing gradual change and dependence on existing conditions. That is a qualification of the earlier view, not a rejection of it or a technical description.

Question 10Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The committee's report praised the project's ambition but noted that its budget had doubled and its timetable had slipped by two years. It concluded that "continued support should be conditional on a revised plan". The committee's conclusion implies that:

  1. the project should be abandoned immediately
  2. the project's ambition was its main flaw
  3. the budget was the only concern
  4. support depends on improved planning Correct answer.

Explanation

"Conditional on a revised plan" means future support requires a better plan first. The report criticises cost and delay, but it does not call for abandonment.

Question 11Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Her argument was elegant but ultimately tendentious: she selected only the evidence that supported her case and ignored the rest. As used in the passage, "tendentious" most nearly means:

  1. excessively complicated in style
  2. slanted toward a conclusion Correct answer.
  3. mathematically precise
  4. carefully balanced and even-handed

Explanation

The colon supplies the definition: selecting only supporting evidence and ignoring the rest. A word describing that behaviour must involve bias toward a preferred conclusion.

Question 12Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Many people believe that goldfish have a three-second memory. In fact, experiments have shown that goldfish can remember tasks for months. This misconception probably persists because it is repeated so often in popular culture. What is the function of the third sentence ("This misconception probably persists...")?

  1. It defines a technical term.
  2. It explains the belief's persistence. Correct answer.
  3. It contradicts the evidence in the second sentence.
  4. It introduces a new experiment.

Explanation

The third sentence offers a reason why the false belief continues to circulate. It does not present new data or dispute the experimental findings; it accounts for their limited influence.

Question 13Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The proposal to widen the motorway is presented as a solution to congestion. Yet every study of induced demand suggests that new lanes simply attract more cars. The scheme, in short, offers motion without progress. The author's attitude toward the proposal is:

  1. indifferent
  2. sceptical Correct answer.
  3. enthusiastic
  4. confused

Explanation

The concessive "Yet" and the closing jibe "motion without progress" signal doubt about the proposal's value. The author engages with the argument, so indifference and confusion do not fit.

Question 14Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Coral reefs occupy less than one per cent of the ocean floor yet support around a quarter of all marine species. Rising sea temperatures cause the corals to expel the algae that feed them, a process known as bleaching. Unless emissions fall, most reefs are expected to disappear within decades. Which option best summarises the passage?

  1. Coral reefs are the largest marine habitat on Earth.
  2. Reefs are diverse yet threatened by heat. Correct answer.
  3. Algae are the main cause of coral bleaching.
  4. Emissions have already destroyed most reefs.

Explanation

A summary must combine the passage's two key points: reefs support a huge share of species and are endangered by warming. The other options distort or overstate the details given.

Question 15Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The treaty was signed in 1648 by representatives of the Holy Roman Empire, France, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic. It recognised the sovereignty of the Dutch Republic and settled territorial disputes in Germany. Spain did not sign until the following year. According to the passage, which state signed the treaty a year later?

  1. Spain Correct answer.
  2. France
  3. Sweden
  4. the Holy Roman Empire

Explanation

The final sentence states that Spain did not sign until the following year. France, Sweden, and the Holy Roman Empire are all listed among the 1648 signatories.

Question 16Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Dr. Okafor's lecture was scheduled for four o'clock. By ten past four the room was still half empty, and she began speaking without waiting for the latecomers. What does the passage suggest about Dr. Okafor?

  1. She was unaware of the time.
  2. She preferred to lecture to small audiences.
  3. She had decided to cancel the lecture.
  4. She did not want to wait for latecomers. Correct answer.

Explanation

Beginning "without waiting" shows a deliberate choice not to delay for people who had not arrived. The passage gives no evidence of her preferences about audience size or of confusion about the time.

Question 17Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The minister promised that the new policy would "cut waiting times, boost productivity, and restore public trust". Critics pointed out that no budget had been allocated for any of these aims. The quoted list in the first sentence functions mainly to:

  1. criticise the minister directly
  2. provide detailed statistical evidence
  3. convey the scale of the minister's promises Correct answer.
  4. summarise the objections raised by the critics

Explanation

The three-part list sets out sweeping aims, which the second sentence then undercuts by noting there is no funding. The list itself makes the promises sound large, preparing for that contrast.

Question 18Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Some economists argue that minimum wages reduce employment by pricing low-skilled workers out of jobs. Others contend that moderate increases have little effect on employment and can raise living standards. Both sides agree that the size of any increase matters. What do the two groups of economists agree on?

  1. that the size of any increase matters Correct answer.
  2. that moderate increases raise living standards
  3. that minimum wages should be abolished
  4. that minimum wages always reduce employment

Explanation

The last sentence explicitly identifies the point of agreement: the magnitude of an increase is important. The other claims belong to one side only or to neither.

Question 19Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Museums increasingly digitise their collections, making high-resolution images freely available online. While this widens access, some curators worry that the experience of standing before an object-its scale, texture, and presence-cannot be reproduced on a screen. The debate is less about technology than about what a museum is for. The final sentence suggests that the debate is fundamentally about:

  1. the purpose of museums Correct answer.
  2. the training of curators
  3. the quality of digital images
  4. the cost of digitisation

Explanation

By saying the debate is "less about technology than about what a museum is for", the author points to the institution's purpose. Cost, image quality, and training are technological or practical matters the sentence explicitly downplays.

Question 20Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The novelist's later works are often described as "difficult". This label, however, tells us more about readers than about the books. What is called difficulty is frequently a refusal to supply the easy consolations-clear motives, tidy endings-that earlier fiction offered. The author implies that the label "difficult" is:

  1. a technical term from literary theory
  2. an accurate description of the novels' plots
  3. a result of careless editing
  4. a reflection of readers' expectations Correct answer.

Explanation

The claim that the label "tells us more about readers than about the books" locates the difficulty in what readers expect. The novels are said to withhold familiar comforts, not to be badly made or theoretically obscure.

Question 21Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. It is tempting to view the invention of writing as an unqualified advance. Yet writing also made possible standing armies, tax registers, and bureaucratic surveillance. The oral cultures it replaced were not necessarily more ignorant, only differently remembering. The passage's tone can best be described as:

  1. strictly factual and neutral
  2. warmly nostalgic for the past
  3. openly hostile to the idea
  4. cautious and revisionist Correct answer.

Explanation

The author concedes that writing looks like an advance before complicating that view with costs and defending oral cultures. This is a measured revision of a common assumption rather than hostility or nostalgia.

Question 22Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The company claims that its new app improves concentration because users who installed it reported feeling more focused. But self-reported focus is a poor measure: people are notoriously bad at judging their own attention. And those who chose to install a concentration app may already have been unusually motivated. Which statement best captures the author's objection?

  1. Concentration cannot be studied scientifically at all.
  2. The evidence is unreliable and self-selected. Correct answer.
  3. The app is too expensive for most users.
  4. The company has not released the app widely.

Explanation

The author attacks two things: the measure (self-reports are untrustworthy) and the sample (users chose to install the app). Together these make the evidence both unreliable and self-selected.

Question 23Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. When the city planted trees along the new boulevard, officials expected them to improve air quality. Measurements showed only a modest effect. The trees did, however, lower summer street temperatures by several degrees, and pedestrian traffic rose accordingly. The passage suggests that the trees' main benefit was:

  1. a decrease in traffic accidents
  2. cooler streets and more pedestrians Correct answer.
  3. a substantial reduction in air pollution
  4. an increase in property prices

Explanation

The air-quality effect is described as modest, while the temperature drop is presented as the real gain, followed by a rise in pedestrian traffic. The contrast signals which benefit the author regards as significant.

Question 24Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The following is from a review: "Readers hoping for a brisk thriller will be disappointed. The plot moves slowly, and the author lingers over descriptions of weather and furniture. Yet those who persist will find that these details accumulate into a vivid portrait of a decaying seaside town." The reviewer's purpose is to:

  1. describe its appeal to certain readers Correct answer.
  2. summarise the plot in considerable detail
  3. condemn the novel without reservation
  4. compare the novel with other thrillers

Explanation

The review warns one kind of reader away but promises a reward to those who persist, identifying the audience the book will suit. This is a qualified recommendation rather than a condemnation or a plot summary.

Question 25Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. For years the lake's fish population declined. Biologists blamed acid rain. When nearby factories closed in 2010, sulphur emissions fell sharply, yet the fish did not recover. Later studies revealed that an invasive crayfish, introduced in the 1990s, had been eating the fish eggs all along. Which factor does the passage suggest was primarily responsible for the decline?

  1. acid rain alone
  2. an invasive species Correct answer.
  3. a rise in water temperature
  4. the closure of factories

Explanation

The passage sets up acid rain as the original explanation and then overturns it: the fish failed to recover after emissions fell, and the crayfish was found to have been eating the eggs throughout. The later evidence is presented as the real explanation.

Question 26Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The town library opened a small seed-lending cabinet in 2019. Borrowers take packets of vegetable seeds in spring and return seeds harvested in autumn. The scheme costs almost nothing to run, yet it has brought in hundreds of visitors who had never used the library before. Which statement best expresses the main point of the passage?

  1. Gardening is more popular in the town than reading.
  2. A cheap addition drew new visitors to the library. Correct answer.
  3. Seed lending has replaced the library's book collection.
  4. The library should charge borrowers for seed packets.

Explanation

The main idea is the point that covers the whole passage: a low-cost seed cabinet produced a large number of first-time visitors. The mechanics of borrowing and the visitors' gardening are supporting details rather than the central claim, so the summary must be pitched at the level of the whole text.

Question 27Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The bridge was closed for repairs, so the market traders, whose stalls stood on the far bank, faced a long detour. Some grumbled; others simply moved their stalls to the near side and carried on. As used in the passage, "detour" most nearly means:

  1. a shorter route
  2. a small fine
  3. a cancelled journey
  4. a longer way round Correct answer.

Explanation

A detour is the route taken when the direct way is blocked, so it is longer rather than shorter. The context of a closed bridge and grumbling traders signals extra distance and inconvenience, which is the meaning the sentence requires.

Question 28Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The Kepler archive holds over 40,000 photographs of the city taken between 1901 and 1955. Most are glass negatives, which were cheaper than film at the time but brittle; about a tenth have cracked, and the archive is now scanning them before further damage occurs. According to the passage, why is the archive scanning the negatives now?

  1. To show negatives cost less than film.
  2. To sell digital copies to the public.
  3. To free shelf space for new photographs.
  4. To save them from further damage. Correct answer.

Explanation

The passage states that about a tenth of the negatives have cracked and that scanning is happening 'before further damage occurs', which gives preservation as the reason. Detail questions require the motive actually stated in the text rather than a plausible one supplied by the reader.

Question 29Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. When the orchestra's conductor fell ill two hours before the concert, the leader of the second violins took the baton. She had never conducted publicly. The reviews the next morning praised the performance warmly and did not mention the substitution. What can reasonably be inferred from the reviews?

  1. The second violins played poorly.
  2. The audience was told of the conductor's illness.
  3. The orchestra cancelled the concert.
  4. The stand-in conductor performed competently. Correct answer.

Explanation

Warm reviews that pass over the substitution in silence suggest the stand-in conducted well enough that critics either did not notice or thought it not worth remarking on. A valid inference must be the conclusion the evidence best supports, not merely a possibility.

Question 30Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. It is often said that recycling 'saves trees'. In practice, most paper in Britain is made from farmed softwood, and the recycled fibre collected at kerbsides is largely exported. Recycling is worth doing, but the slogan oversimplifies the supply chain. What is the author's main purpose in this passage?

  1. To question a popular simplification. Correct answer.
  2. To criticise the export industry.
  3. To discourage households from recycling.
  4. To explain how paper mills operate.

Explanation

The author accepts that recycling is worthwhile but argues that the slogan 'saves trees' misrepresents how paper is actually supplied. Purpose is identified from the overall movement of the passage, which here qualifies a widely repeated shorthand rather than rejecting the practice.

Question 31Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The council's parking strategy was designed to reduce congestion in the town centre. It did so, but only by pushing cars into the residential streets nearby, where residents now complain of blocked drives. In the passage, "It did so" refers to:

  1. complaining about blocked drives
  2. reducing congestion in the centre Correct answer.
  3. pushing cars into nearby streets
  4. designing the parking strategy

Explanation

The pronoun substitutes for the outcome named in the previous sentence, the strategy's stated aim of reducing town-centre congestion. Applying the substitution test gives 'the strategy reduced congestion in the centre, but only by pushing cars elsewhere'.

Question 32Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Mr Hale's memoir is full of anecdotes about famous friends, but the friends themselves appear only as names and dinner menus. One closes the book knowing a great deal about what was served and very little about the man. The tone of the passage is best described as:

  1. dryly critical Correct answer.
  2. neutral indifference
  3. reverent admiration
  4. furious anger

Explanation

The writer uses understatement and a mild closing barb, contrasting elaborate meals with the absence of any real portrait of the author, to mock the book without outrage. Ironic observation of this kind signals dry criticism rather than admiration or rage.

Question 33Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The new stadium cost £240 million and seats 55,000 people. It is the finest sporting venue in the region, and the ticket prices are, in this writer's view, a scandal. Which detail from the passage is a statement of fact rather than opinion?

  1. It is the finest venue in the region.
  2. The ticket prices are a scandal.
  3. The stadium seats 55,000 people. Correct answer.
  4. The stadium is better than the old one.

Explanation

A statement of fact can in principle be checked independently of the writer's preferences, and a seating capacity is exactly that. The other statements are evaluations that a reasonable person could dispute or that are flagged as the writer's own view.

Question 34Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Supporters of the four-day week cite trials in which productivity held steady or rose. Critics reply that the firms volunteering for such trials tend to be small, office-based and already efficient - precisely the businesses least likely to struggle with a shorter week. The critics' reply is best understood as:

  1. showing that small firms are inefficient
  2. challenging how far the trials can be generalised Correct answer.
  3. denying that productivity held steady in the trials
  4. arguing that a four-day week harms employees

Explanation

The critics accept the trial results but argue that the sample is unrepresentative, which limits how far the findings can be extended to other workplaces. Attacking generalisability is a different move from disputing the data themselves.

Question 35Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The claim that handwriting improves memory is usually supported by a single study of 60 students who took notes by hand and by laptop. The handwriting group remembered more. Yet the two groups also differed in how much they wrote: laptop users transcribed almost everything and thought less about it. What role does the detail about how much each group wrote play?

  1. It shows the study was fraudulent.
  2. It proves that laptops are harmful to learning.
  3. It suggests another explanation for the result. Correct answer.
  4. It confirms the original claim about handwriting.

Explanation

If the groups differed in note-taking behaviour as well as in method, the memory difference could stem from that behaviour rather than from handwriting. Introducing a rival cause shows the study cannot isolate the factor it claims to isolate.

Question 36Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Sales of electric cars rose 40 per cent last year, and the number of public charging points rose 12 per cent. The industry concludes that drivers are now confident about charging on long journeys. Why is the industry's conclusion weakly supported?

  1. Charging points are not used by electric cars.
  2. Sales figures are usually unreliable.
  3. The figures show growth, not confidence. Correct answer.
  4. Electric cars are more expensive than petrol cars.

Explanation

Two numbers rising together show only that both grew; they say nothing about what drivers feel. A conclusion about confidence requires evidence about attitudes, which the passage does not supply.

Question 37Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Granted, the new timetable has cut journey times between the two cities by twenty minutes. But it has done so by removing stops at four intermediate stations, whose passengers now face a slower and less frequent service. What is the function of the first sentence?

  1. It states the author's overall conclusion.
  2. It concedes a benefit before objecting. Correct answer.
  3. It contradicts the second sentence.
  4. It recommends a different timetable.

Explanation

The word 'Granted' marks a concession: the author allows a genuine benefit before introducing the objection that carries the argument. Recognising concession markers stops the reader from mistaking the conceded point for the main claim.

Question 38Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The report's recommendations are a patchwork quilt: each patch is neatly stitched, but there is no pattern binding them together, and the whole is held in place by threads that will not bear much weight. The metaphor suggests that the recommendations are:

  1. individually sound but poorly integrated Correct answer.
  2. strong enough to support the conclusions
  3. colourful and diverse by design
  4. stitched by hand rather than machine

Explanation

A metaphor is read by mapping each element onto the subject: neat patches are sound individual items, absence of a pattern is lack of coherence, and weak threads are fragile overall justification. The image therefore criticises how the parts fit together, not the quality of each part.

Question 39Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The museum extended its opening hours to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Attendance on Thursdays rose by a third. The director concluded that late opening attracts visitors who cannot come during the day. The director's conclusion assumes that:

  1. Thursday is the busiest day of the museum's week.
  2. the museum's staff were paid overtime.
  3. visitors prefer evenings to mornings.
  4. the rise was caused by the later closing time. Correct answer.

Explanation

For the attendance rise to support the conclusion, the new visitors must have been drawn by the later closing rather than by anything else that changed. Without that causal link the evidence does not reach the claim, so it is the unstated assumption the argument needs.

Question 40Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Two accounts of the same expedition survive. One describes the leader as 'resolute'; the other calls him 'obstinate'. Both agree that he refused to turn back when the weather worsened. The difference between the two words lies mainly in:

  1. the writer's attitude to the refusal Correct answer.
  2. whether the leader turned back
  3. the weather conditions described
  4. the length of the expedition

Explanation

'Resolute' and 'obstinate' pick out the same behaviour but attach opposite evaluations, approval and disapproval. Connotation is the evaluative colouring a word adds to its literal meaning, and that is the only difference the passage identifies.

Question 41Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Students who eat breakfast score higher on morning tests than those who do not. Schools have therefore begun offering free breakfasts, expecting results to improve. Yet the students who already ate breakfast were also more likely to have a quiet place to study at home. The final sentence suggests that:

  1. breakfast has no nutritional value.
  2. the breakfast link may not be causal. Correct answer.
  3. free breakfasts should be withdrawn.
  4. test scores are an unreliable measure.

Explanation

If a third factor such as home study conditions influences both breakfast habits and test scores, the observed association need not be a causal one. The final sentence introduces precisely this kind of confounding variable, which is why it weakens the case for the policy.

Question 42Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Every winter the river floods the lower meadow. Engineers proposed a concrete wall; ecologists proposed reopening an old channel that once carried excess water across the floodplain. The channel would cost a fifth as much and, unlike the wall, would not cut the meadow off from the river. Which statement best summarises the author's position?

  1. The meadow should not be protected.
  2. The channel is the better option. Correct answer.
  3. Neither plan will prevent flooding.
  4. The wall is worth its higher cost.

Explanation

The author reports that the channel is far cheaper and avoids the wall's drawback, and offers no criticism of it, so the implied position favours the channel. A summary must capture the balance of the passage rather than isolate one detail.

Question 43Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Most reviewers agreed that the film was beautifully shot. Few, however, thought the plot held together, and almost none recommended it to friends. Which statement is supported by the passage?

  1. Reviewers generally found the story weak. Correct answer.
  2. All reviewers recommended the film.
  3. Reviewers disagreed about the acting.
  4. No reviewer admired the film's photography.

Explanation

'Few thought the plot held together' means only a small minority judged the story coherent, so the claim that reviewers generally found it weak follows. Quantifiers such as 'few', 'most' and 'almost none' must be read precisely.

Question 44Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Far from being a frivolous pastime, the diaries show that her birdwatching was punctilious: every sighting was dated, located and cross-checked against a field guide before it was entered. In context, "punctilious" most nearly means:

  1. careful about detail Correct answer.
  2. secretive and private
  3. occasional and careless
  4. expensive and exclusive

Explanation

The colon introduces a gloss on the word: dating, locating and cross-checking each sighting is behaviour marked by scrupulous attention to detail. Context clues placed after a colon often define the term that precedes it.

Question 45Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Some historians treat the railway boom as a story of engineers. Others point out that the lines were built by thousands of navvies whose wages, tools and accidents fill the company ledgers far more than any drawing does. The second group of historians emphasises:

  1. the labour behind the railways Correct answer.
  2. the profitability of the railway companies
  3. the quality of the engineers' drawings
  4. the role of government in planning routes

Explanation

The second group redirects attention from designers to the workforce, whose wages, tools and accidents dominate the records. In a two-view passage, the key is to identify exactly what each group stresses.

Question 46Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Because no one has proved that the old factory is leaking chemicals into the groundwater, we should assume that it is not. After all, the residents have produced no evidence of contamination. The reasoning is flawed because it:

  1. mistakes a lack of proof for proof Correct answer.
  2. relies on the testimony of residents
  3. confuses groundwater with drinking water
  4. assumes the factory is still operating

Explanation

The argument moves from 'no one has proved a leak' to 'assume there is no leak', treating a gap in the evidence as positive support for the opposite conclusion. Absence of proof for a claim is not proof of its negation, and that is the fallacy involved.

Question 47Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. Charts of global temperature are often attacked for 'adjusting' raw readings. Adjustments are indeed made - for the time of day a reading was taken, for a station that moved, for a thermometer that changed. The critics rarely say which adjustment they think is wrong, and the effect of all of them together is small compared with the trend they describe. The author would most likely agree that:

  1. raw readings should never be adjusted by scientists
  2. thermometers have not changed since the year 1900
  3. critics should name the adjustments they dispute Correct answer.
  4. the temperature trend is an artefact of adjustments

Explanation

The author concedes that adjustments exist and explains their rationale, then faults critics for failing to identify any particular one as mistaken. The implied preference is for specific, checkable objections rather than blanket suspicion of the process.

Question 48Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The city's bike-share scheme is judged a success because it recorded two million rides. Rides, however, are counted each time a bicycle is unlocked, so a single commuter who rides to work and back five days a week contributes ten 'rides' a week. The passage implies that the success measure is:

  1. generous to the scheme's critics
  2. based on surveys of commuters
  3. the only available data on cycling
  4. inflated by counting trips, not users Correct answer.

Explanation

Because every unlock counts as a ride, the total reflects journeys rather than distinct people, so the headline figure overstates how many participants there are. Noticing how a statistic is defined is central to judging a claim of success.

Question 49Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. A study found that children who read for pleasure at age ten earn more at age forty. The authors conclude that encouraging reading will raise future earnings. Which finding would most weaken the conclusion?

  1. Reading for pleasure is common among ten-year-olds.
  2. Family income drove both reading and earnings. Correct answer.
  3. Some children prefer sport to reading.
  4. Earnings were measured in a single year.

Explanation

If family income raised both the likelihood of reading and later earnings, the association between reading and pay could be spurious. A finding that supplies a common cause of both variables undermines the causal conclusion the authors draw.

Question 50Reading comprehension

Read the passage and answer the question. The proposal to ban cars from the high street is said to threaten trade. The evidence for this is a survey in which 62 per cent of respondents agreed that 'cars are important for the high street'. Agreement with that sentence is not the same as a prediction of lost sales, and no shop has been asked what it expects. Which best describes the author's attitude to the survey?

  1. Its sample was too small to be meaningful.
  2. It does not support the claim it is cited for. Correct answer.
  3. Its findings have been misreported by journalists.
  4. It should have surveyed shoppers rather than drivers.

Explanation

The author's objection is that agreeing cars are 'important' is not the same as predicting lost trade, so the survey does not underwrite the threat claim. Attacking the inference drawn from data is a different criticism from attacking the data's quality.