GED Practice Quiz

Directions:

When you are finished, go to the Web Links or choose a different activity or chapter from the menu on the left.

Questions 1 and 2 refer to the following excerpt.

The Power of Words

       (1) Words not only have dictionary definitions, but they also have meanings that suggest positive and negative images. (2) Blue is a color that suggests peace and tranquility. (3) For example, either uninformed or stupid can be used to describe a person voting on an issue he or she knows nothing about. (4) Would you rather be called a fussy, scrawny person, or an extremely neat, slender person? (5) One creative store owner uses the power of words to advertise her business: "We buy old furniture. We sell antiques."

1		Which sentence would be most effective at the beginning of the paragraph?
			A)	The word home means more than a place to eat and sleep.
			B)	Often, neither readers nor writers truly understand the power of words.
			C)	Advertisers use the positive and negative meanings of words.
			D)	Informal English sets a light-hearted tone in writing.
			E)	Idioms are words and phrases that have a meaning different from the literal meaning of the words.
2		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the paragraph?
			A)	remove sentence 2
			B)	move sentence 2 to the beginning of the paragraph
			C)	remove sentence 3
			D)	move sentence 5 to follow sentence 2
			E)	move sentence 2 to the end of the of the paragraph

Question 3 refers to the following excerpt.

The Role of the Spectator

       (1) Every year Americans spend millions of dollars attending sporting events and millions of hours watching them on television. (2) No one pays them to be spectators, and they end up with nothing to show for their time. (3) Yet they do it because sports seem to meet many needs that people cannot easily fill in their daily lives. (4) Games lend excitement to days filled with routine. (5) They provide a safe outlet for competitive feelings and tensions. (6) In sports there are clear winners and losers, while in real life most people have few clear-cut victories. (7) People identify with their teams and a victory makes the fans feel like winners as well.

3		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the paragraph? Begin a new paragraph
			A)	with sentence 2
			B)	with sentence 5
			C)	with sentence 4
			D)	with sentence 6
			E)	no revision is necessary

Questions 4 and 5 refer to the following information.

The Dog Marathon

       (1) It has begun on the first Saturday in March every year since 1973. (2) This race is a marathon, but sled dogs instead of humans are the athletes. (3) Most mushers and their teams take from 10 days to 3 weeks to complete the 1,049-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. (4) Thousands of tourists come to see Alaska’s magnificent scenery. (5) At checkpoints along the race route veterinarians wait to examine the dogs. (6) For many people, the greatest race on earth is the Iditarod Race in Alaska.(7) Most racers will see that their dogs are fed and comfortable before feeding or taking care of themselves. (8) Almost anything can happen in a race like this. (9) Once, a fun-loving musher drove his dogs into a checkpoint dressed in matching camouflage outfits as if they were all little Rambos.

4		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of this paragraph?
			A)	move sentence 6 to the beginning of the paragraph
			B)	remove sentence 2
			C)	remove sentence 3
			D)	move sentence 2 to the end of the paragraph
			E)	no revision is necessary
5		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the paragraph?
			A)	remove sentence 9
			B)	move sentence 8 to the beginning of the paragraph
			C)	remove sentence 1
			D)	remove sentence 4
			E)	no revision is necessary

Question 6 refers to the following information.

History of the Telegraph

       (1) People who write history believe that the earliest telegraphs were drums and smoke signals from fires. (2) The ancient Greeks are thought to have invented the modern telegraph. (3) They were the first to link alphabet letters to signals. (4) Samuel Morse, an American inventor, devised the first practical telegraph in 1837. (5) Since then inventors have given the world today’s’ telegraph, telephone, television, and many other communication breakthroughs.

6		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the paragraph?
			A)	move sentence 5 to the beginning of the paragraph
			B)	remove sentence 5
			C)	remove sentence 2
			D)	move sentence 3 to follow sentence 1
			E)	no revision is necessary

Question 7 refers to the following cover letter.

Michael Crane, Manager
About Music, Ltd.
1330 Belmont Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657


Dear Mr. Crane:

       (1) I read your advertisement in the News Gazette for a sales professional who is familiar with musical instruments. (2) I have worked part-time at Village Music for the past three years. (3) Although my main responsibilities are ordering and stocking CDs, I also provide customer service in the stringed instruments department. (4) I play a really cool acoustic guitar myself. (5) I am familiar with different product lines and enjoy working with customers. (6) I would like to meet with you discuss the sales position. (7) Please call me to set up an interview.

Sincerely,

Alan Jenkins

7		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the letter?
			A)	remove sentence 1
			B)	remove sentence 2
			C)	remove sentence 4
			D)	remove sentence 5
			E)	remove sentence 6

Question 8 refers to the following information.

History of the Tomato

(A)
       (1) Modern tomatoes are descended from the wild cherry tomato, which is native to South America. (2) The natural habitat of the plant spread into Central America, where tomatoes were domesticated by native peoples.

(B)
       (3) The Aztecs were the first to cultivate and eat the tomato. (4) Early explorers took the tomato to Europe. (5) European botanists linked the tomato with the deadly nightshade plant and so thought it was poisonous too. (6) When the colonists traveled to North America, they brought tomatoes with them, but only as ornaments because people were still too afraid to eat them.

8		Which revision would improve this piece of writing?
			A)	move sentence 3 to follow sentence 5
			B)	move sentence 3 to the end of paragraph A
			C)	move sentence 1 to follow sentence 6
			D)	move sentence 6 to the beginning of paragraph B
			E)	move sentence 2 to the beginning of paragraph A

Question 9 refers to the following information.

Walking for Exercise

       (1) Other activities generate more conversation and media coverage, but none of them approaches walking in number of participants. (2) Approximately half of all adults in the United States claim they exercise regularly, and the number who walk for exercise is increasing each year. (3) Nearly everyone who walks does so because of a conviction that it is good exercise. (4) Walking is the only exercise in which the rate of participation does not decline in the middle and later years. (5) In a national survey, researchers found the highest percentage of regular walkers was among men 65 years and older.

9		Which sentence would be most effective at the beginning of this paragraph?
			A)	Presidents Jefferson, Lincoln, and Truman were walkers.
			B)	Walking is easily the most popular form of exercise.
			C)	People walk outdoors and indoors at health clubs and malls.
			D)	Walking offers protection against obesity and high blood pressure.
			E)	You can even listen to music while walking.

Question 10 refers to the following excerpt

The Joys of Being a Veterinarian

       (1) Veterinarians are animal lovers who have wonderful patients. (2) What veterinarian hasn’t been licked in the face by a grateful dog? (3) Even injured cats will purr weakly when they receive help. (4) Examining a squirming litter of puppies a few weeks old takes a lot of patience even for an animal lover. (5) Veterinary students study anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and surgery. (6) Veterinarians, though, find it personally rewarding to help pets and their owners.

10		Which revision would improve the effectiveness of the paragraph?
			A)	move sentence 5 to the beginning of the paragraph
			B)	remove sentence 1
			C)	remove sentence 6
			D)	remove sentence 5
			E)	no revision is necessary