ACT READING PSAE Prep Course #1. ACT READING The ACT reading test is an aptitude test. It is designed to measure how “smart” you are compared to other

ACT READINGPSAE Prep Course #1

ACT READING

The ACT reading test is an aptitude test. It is designed to measure how “smart” you are compared to other people who take the same test.

It measures your ability to interpret information. It does not measure what you already know.

ACT READING

ACT has designed their tests to measure whether you can…

1. READ

2. UNDERSTAND

ACT READING

There are four types of reading tests.

Prose fictionSocial scienceHumanitiesNatural science

ACT READING

1st- Prose Fiction

You are required to read stories and make inferences about the subject matter of the story.

Character and motivation are a part of this test more than just facts.

You will be asked to make inferences about the story based on the information given.

Allen’s grandmother was readying herself to leave. She was, in fact, putting the final touches on her makeup which, as always, looked to Allen as though someone had thrown it on her face with a shovel. As Mrs. Mandale placed her newly purchased bracelet over her wrist, a look of trouble ambivalence came over her. “Perhaps this bracelet isn’t right for me,” she said. “I won’t wear it.”

Waiting now for 30 minutes, Allen tried to be tolerant. “It is right for you,” he said. “It matches your personality. Wear it.” The bracelet was a remarkable illustration of poor taste. Its colors were vulgar and the structure lacked any sign of a thoughtful design. The truth is, it did match his grandmother’s personality. All that she did and enjoyed was tasteless and induced in Allen a quiet hopelessness.

ACT READING

Allen most likely encouraged his grandmother to wear her bracelet because he:

A. found it colorful and approved of its appearance.

B. found its appearance pathetic and wished his grandmother to look pretty.

C. was impatience with his grandmother for spending time worrying about the bracelet.

D. felt the bracelet matched his grandmother’s bright personality.

ACT READING

4th- Natural Science

You are required to read essays covering some scientific topic.

Selections are packed with information.Questions place greater emphasis on the facts.

It is further noteworthy that the terrestrial vertebrate’s most significant muscles of movement are no longer located lateral to the vertebral column as they are in the fish but rather in ventral and dorsal relation to it. This trend in terrestrial evolution is highly significant and means that the terrestrial vertebrate’s principal movements are fore and back, not side to side. The trend is well documented in the whale, an aquatic animal whose ancestors are terrestrial quadrupeds. The whale, in other words, has “returned” to the sea secondarily after an ancestral stage on land. Unlike the fish, and in accordance with its ancestry, it propels itself by moving the tail up and down, not side to side. In a sense, the whale moves itself by bending up and down at the waist. Indeed, that very analogy is recalled by the mythical mermaid figure who seems to represent a humanlike line returned to the water secondarily like the whale.

ACT READING

Which of the following best represents a general trend associated with mammalian evolution?

A. Enhancement of bodily movement from right to left and left to right

B. Minimization of muscle groups oriented lateral to the vertebral column

C. The development of propulsive fins from paired limbs

D. Secondary return to the sea

ACT READING

2nd and 3rd- Social Science & Humanities

You are required to read essays covering informational topics about a famous person or a social movement.

The selection will contain a lot of facts, but you will also be asked to evaluate the author’s tone, bias, or purpose.

Religion is so fundamental a part of human existence that one might easily forget to ask how it started. Yet it had to start somewhere and there had to be a time when human beings or their apelike ancestors did not entertain notions of the supernatural. Hence the historian should want to probe the origins of religions belief.

It is doubtful that morality played a part in the beginnings of religious belief. Rather, religion is traceable to a far more fundamental human and animal characteristic. Storms, floods, famine, and other adversities inspired fear in the hearts of primitive peoples as well they should have. Curiously, humankind early took the position that it might somehow subject such catastrophes to its control. Specifically, it believed it might control them by obedience and submission and by conforming its behavior to their mandates. Worship, ritual, sacrifice of life, and property became means through which early people sought to cajole the powers and avoid the blights and miseries the peoples dreaded. As Petronius, in Lucretius’s tradition remarked, “It was fear that first made the gods.”

ACT READING

According to the passage, natural disasters contributed to the development of religion by:

A. motivating human beings to acquire some command over their environment

B. making human beings distinguish themselves from animals

C. causing human beings to sacrifice their lives and goods

D. providing a need for ritual and tradition

ACT READING

The author believes that the origins of religion:

F. are extremely easy to ascertain and understandG. Should not be questioned by historians because

religion is fundamental to civilized life.H. are directly tied to apelike subhuman speciesJ. should be the subject of serious historical inquiry.

Mark Twain had magnificent style, and with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he built the gateway to American fiction. Huckleberry Finn treats extraordinarily serious themes, and it reflects the author’s coming of age. Although they don’t represent truly mature works, other Twain Mississippi River stories, published before Huck Finn, afford American’s a clear, collective picture of pre-Civil War life in the Mississippi Valley.

With the coming and going of the Civil War, however, Twain adopted a revised agenda, which was reflected in the style and subject matter of his writing. The postwar era demanded that he address himself to the nation’s social squalor. His work was more intellectualized, artificial, and at times angry. The author himself had faced several personal tragedies in the series, and these too might have contributed to the metamorphosis.

ACT READING

According to the passage, which of the following statements is true of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn?

A. It appeared after the publication of other Mark Twain stories describing life on the Mississippi River.

B. It was the first full-length book that Mark TwainC. It would have been quite different if Mark Twain had

not suffered personal tragedy.D. It had no serious themes and addressed no serious

issues.

ACT READING

In the author’s opinion, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

F. Should not be read to children.G. Contributed less to American literature than did

Twain’s postwar writings.H. Is less adult in its subject matter than were

Twain’s postwar writings.J. Reveals that Mark Twain had grown since writing

his early Mississippi River stories.

ACT READING

TIPS

Start with the type of passage you feel most comfortable with, and save the one that is hardest for you for last.

Beware of answers that are camouflaged. The answer may be worded differently in the answer than it was in the text. (This is why having a bigger vocabulary (i.e. reading more) is beneficial).

Be sure to match up what the author says to what the choices mean.

DISTRACTERSACT READING

ACT READING: DISTRACTERS

Distracter #1- Deceptive Answers

These distracters use the author’s words, but distort their meanings.

Tom loves to go to the movies with Mary. Which is true?

a. Tom fell in love with Mary at the movies.b. Tom enjoys viewing movies with Mary as his companion.c. Tom and Mary love the movies.d. Tom and Mary generally enjoy seeing movies about love.


Read the prose fiction excerpt on pg. 252.◦ What does the author say?◦ What DOESN’T the author say?

Read the social science excerpt on pg. 251.◦ What does the author say?◦ What DOESN’T the author say?

Read the humanities excerpt on pg. 254.◦ What does the author say?◦ What DOESN’T the author say?

Read the natural science excerpt on pg. 249.◦ What does the author say?◦ What DOESN’T the author say?


Distracter #2- SwitchersThese distracters take the truth and

switch it around.

Professor Thorne generally explains a technological discovery first in terms of its history and then in terms of the science upon which it was founded.

VS.Professor Thorne generally explains a technological

discovery first in terms of the science upon which it was founded, and then in terms of its history.


OR…

Professor Thorne generally explains a technological discovery first in terms of its history and then in terms of the science upon which it was founded.

VS.After Professor Thorne describes the scientific

aspects of a technological breakthrough, he explains the historical context in which the breakthrough was made.


Read the social science excerpt on pg. 257.◦ Which one is a switch?◦ Which one is correct?

Read the natural science excerpt on pg. 258.◦ Which one is a switch?◦ Which one is correct?


Distracter #3- ExtremesAvoid answers with always, invariably,

never, completely, perfectly, or absolutely.

Patients who are chronically depressed never enjoy their lives.

Never? Ever? That seems harsh.


Answer question #31 before even reading the passage. Which one is too extreme?




Distracter #4: Too NiceBe wary of answers that sound “nice” or

“right” but are not based on the text.

…In truth, world peace is always just past the horizon…


Read the prose passage pg. 264 and answer the question.

Read the social studies excerpt and answer the question.

ACT READING

Prose fiction◦ Character ◦ motivation ◦ Inferences

Natural science◦ information◦ Facts

Social science & Humanities◦ Facts◦ Tone◦ Bias◦ purpose

Let’s Review…There are four types of reading tests.

ACT READING

DistractersDistracter #1- Deceptive Answers

◦ These distracters use the author’s words, but distort their meanings.

Distracter #2- Switchers◦ These distracters take the truth and switch it around.

Distracter #3- Extremes◦ Avoid answers with always, invariably, never, completely,

perfectly, or absolutely.Distracter #4: Too Nice

◦ Be wary of answers that sound “nice” or “right” but are not based on the text.

Documents

ACT READING PSAE Prep Course #1. ACT READING The ACT reading test is an aptitude test. It is designed to measure how “smart” you are compared to other