Reading TEAS Practice Test Related

Review Reading TEAS Practice Test related questions and content

Smoking tobacco products is terribly destructive. A single cigarette contains
over 4,000 chemicals, including 43 known carcinogens and 400 deadly toxins.
Some of the most dangerous ingredients include tar, carbon monoxide,
formaldehyde, ammonia, arsenic, and DDT. Smoking can cause numerous
types of cancer including throat, mouth, nasal cavity, esophagus, stomach,
pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervical.
Cigarettes contain a drug called nicotine, one of the most addictive substances
known to man. Addiction is defined as a compulsion to seek the substance
despite negative consequences. According to the National Institute of Drug
Abuse, nearly 35 million smokers expressed a desire to quit smoking in 2015;
however, more than 85 percent of those addicts will not achieve their goal.
Almost all smokers regret picking up that first cigarette. You would be wise to
learn from their mistake if you have not yet started smoking.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 16 million
people in the United States presently suffer from a smoking-related condition
and nearly nine million suffer from a serious smoking-related illness.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tobacco
products cause nearly six million deaths per year. This number is projected to
rise to over eight million deaths by 2030. Smokers, on average, die ten years
earlier than their nonsmoking peers.
In the United States, local, state, and federal governments typically tax
tobacco products, which leads to high prices. Nicotine addicts sometimes pay
more for a pack of cigarettes than for a few gallons of gas. Additionally,
smokers tend to stink. The smell of smoke is all-consuming and creates a
pervasive nastiness. Smokers also risk staining their teeth and fingers with
yellow residue from the tar.

Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes the passage?

  • A. Tobacco is less healthy than many alternatives.
  • B. Tobacco is deadly, expensive, and socially unappealing.
  • C. The US typically taxes tobacco products, leading to high prices.
  • D. Tobacco products shorten smokers' lives by ten years and kill millions.
Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B. The passage extensively details the destructive nature of smoking tobacco products, highlighting the numerous harmful chemicals, addictive properties of nicotine, increased risk of various cancers, serious health conditions, and premature deaths associated with smoking. It also mentions the high costs due to government taxation on tobacco products, alongside the negative social aspects like the smell and staining effects. Choice A is incorrect as the passage emphasizes the severe dangers rather than comparing the healthiness of tobacco to other alternatives. Choice C is incorrect as it focuses solely on the financial aspect of tobacco taxation, omitting the broader health and social consequences discussed in the passage. Choice D is partially correct but not as comprehensive as choice B, which encapsulates the deadly, expensive, and socially unappealing nature of tobacco use as portrayed in the passage.