Reading TEAS Practice Test Related

The speaker addresses his audience as 'My Good Friends.' What kind of credibility does this salutation give to the speaker?

• A. The speaker is an employer addressing his employees, so the salutation is a way to bridge the gap between himself and his employees.
• B. The speaker's salutation is one from an entertainer to his audience, using friendly language to connect before a serious speech.
• C. The salutation gives the serious speech that follows a somber tone, as it is used ironically.
• D. The speech is one from a politician to the public, so the salutation is used to grab the audience's attention.

They were known as "The Five": a group of Russian musicians who eschewed rigidly formal classical training and set out on their own to give a new artistic sound to classical music in Russia. Mily Balakirev and Cesar Cui are considered the founders of the movement, but the three who later joined them have become far more famous and respected outside, and perhaps even inside, of Russia. Modest Mussorgsky, with his passion for themes of Russian folklore and nationalism, is remembered for the pain piece Pictures and an Exhibition, as well as for the passionate opera Boris Godunov. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who spend his early years as a naval officer, had a penchant for infusing his works with the sounds of the seas. But, he might be best remembered for the hauntingly beautiful symphonic suite Scheherazade. Alexander Borodin balanced a career as a skilled and highly respected chemist with his interest in classical music. he produced a number of symphonies, as well as the opera Prince Igor. Despite their lack of formal training and their unorthodox approach to producing classical music, The Five had an influence that reached far beyond their time. Composers such as Alexander Glazunov, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky studied under Rimsky-Korsakov. Additionally, the mid-twentieth century composer Dmitri Shostakovich studied under Glazunov, creating a legacy of musical understanding that persisted well beyond the era of The Five

Based on the information in the passage, which of the composers among The Five would the author likely agree was the most influential?

• A. Alexander Glazunov
• B. Modest Mussorgsky
• C. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
• D. Cesar Cui

Christopher Columbus is often credited for discovering America. This is
incorrect. First, it is impossible to "discover" something where people already
live; however, Christopher Columbus did explore places in the New World
that were previously untouched by Europe, so the term “explorer†would be
more accurate. Another correction must be made, as well: Christopher
Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the present day
Americas! Rather, it was Leif Erikson who first came to the New World and
contacted the natives, nearly five hundred years before Christopher
Columbus.
Leif Erikson, the son of Erik the Red (a famous Viking outlaw and explorer in
his own right), was born in either 970 or 980, depending on which historian you seek. His own family, though, did not raise Leif, which was a Viking
tradition. Instead, one of Erik's prisoners taught Leif reading and writing,
languages, sailing, and weaponry. At age 12, Leif was considered a man and
returned to his family. He killed a man during a dispute shortly after his
return, and the council banished the Erikson clan to Greenland.
In 999, Leif left Greenland and traveled to Norway where he would serve as a
guard to King Olaf Tryggvason. It was there that he became a convert to
Christianity. Leif later tried to return home with the intention of taking
supplies and spreading Christianity to Greenland, however his ship was blown
off course and he arrived in a strange new land: present day Newfoundland,
Canada.
When he finally returned to his adopted homeland Greenland, Leif consulted
with a merchant who had also seen the shores of this previously unknown
land we now know as Canada. The son of the legendary Viking explorer then
gathered a crew of 35 men and set sail. Leif became the first European to
touch foot in the New World as he explored present-day Baffin Island and
Labrador, Canada. His crew called the land Vinland since it was plentiful with
grapes.
During their time in present-day Newfoundland, Leif's expedition made
contact with the natives whom they referred to as Skraelings (which translates
to "wretched ones" in Norse). There are several secondhand accounts of their
meetings. Some contemporaries described trade between the peoples. Other
accounts describe clashes where the Skraelings defeated the Viking explorers
with long spears, while still others claim the Vikings dominated the natives.
Regardless of the circumstances, it seems that the Vikings made contact of
some kind. This happened around 1000, nearly five hundred years before
Columbus famously sailed the ocean blue.
Eventually, in 1003, Leif set sail for home and arrived at Greenland with a
ship full of timber.
In 1020, seventeen years later, the legendary Viking died. Many believe that
Leif Erikson should receive more credit for his contributions in exploring the
New World.

Which of the following most accurately describes the author's main conclusion?

• A. Leif Erikson is a legendary Viking explorer.
• B. Leif Erikson deserves more credit for exploring America.
• C. Spreading Christianity motivated Leif's expeditions.
• D. Leif Erikson contacted the natives nearly five hundred years before Columbus.

Eventually, his son King Charles II would be crowned, and this Charles is believed to have converted secretly to the Catholic Church. Charles II died without a legitimate heir, and his brother James ascended to the throne as King James II. James was recognized to be a practicing Catholic, and his commitment to Catholicism would prove to e his downfall. James' wife Mary Beatrice lost a number of children during their infancy, and when she became pregnant again in 1687 the public became concerned. If James had a son, that son would undoubtedly be raised a Catholic, and the English people would not stand for this. Mary gave birth to a son, but the story quickly circulated that the royal child had died and the child named James' heir was a foundling smuggled in. James, his wife, and his infant son were forced to flee; and James' Protestant daughter Mary was crowned the queen. In spite of a strong resemblance to the king, the young James was generally rejected among the English and the Lowland Scots, who referred to him as "the Pretender." But in the Highlands the Catholic princeling was welcomed. He inspired a group known as Jacobites, to reflect the Latin version of his name. His own son Charles, known affectionately as Bonnie Price Charlie, would eventually raise an army and attempt to recapture what he believed to be his throne. The movement was soundly defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and England and Scotland have remained ostensibly Protestant ever since.

Which of the following is a logical conclusion based on the information provided within the passage?

• A. Like Elizabeth I, Charles II never married and thus never had children.
• B. The English people were relieved each time James II's wife Mary lost another child, as this reduced the chance of a Catholic monarch.
• C. Charles I's beheading had less to do with religion than with other political problems that England was facing.
• D. Unlike his son and grandsons, King James I had no Catholic leaning and was a faithful follower of the Protestant Church of England.

The area known as the Bermuda Triangle has become such a part of popular culture that it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. The interest first began when five Navy planes vanished in 1945, officially resulting from "causes or reasons unknown." The explanations about other accidents in the Triangle range from the scientific to the supernatural. Researchers have never been able to find anything truly mysterious about what happens in the Bermuda Triangle, if there even is a Bermuda Triangle. What is more, one of the biggest challenges in considering the
phenomenon is deciding how much area actually represents the Bermuda Triangle. Most consider
the Triangle to stretch from Miami out to Puerto Rico and to include the island of Bermuda.
Others expand the area to include all of the Caribbean islands and to extend eastward as far as the
Azores, which are closer to Europe than they are to North America.
The problem with having a larger Bermuda Triangle is that it increases the odds of accidents.
There is near-constant travel, by ship and by plane, across the Atlantic, and accidents are expected
to occur. In fact, the Bermuda triangle happens to fall within one of the busiest navigational
regions in the world, and the reality of greater activity creates the possibility for more to go wrong.
Shipping records suggest that there is not a greater than average loss of vessels within the
Bermuda Triangle, and many researchers have argued that the reputation of the Triangle makes
any accidents seem out of the ordinary. In fact, most accidents fall within the expected margin of
error. The Increase in ships from East Asia no doubt contributes to an increase in accidents. And
as for the story of the Navy planes that disappeared within the Triangle, many researchers now
conclude that it was the result of mistakes on the part of the pilots who were flying into storm
clouds and simply got lost.

With which of the following statements would the author most likely agree?

• A. There is no real mystery about the Bermuda Triangle because most events have reasonable explanations.
• B. Researchers are wrong to expand the focus of the Triangle to the Azores, as this increases the likelihood of accidents.
• C. The official statement of 'causes or reasons unknown' in the loss of the Navy planes was a deliberate concealment from the Navy.
• D. Reducing the legends about the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle will help to reduce the number of reported accidents or shipping losses in the region.