ASVAB Reading Comprehension Study Guide Part 2

Reading Closely

This part of our ASVAB Reading Comprehension Study Guide covers reading closely. If you read through Part 1 of our free study guide, you’ve already learned some basic strategies that help with most types of multiple-choice questions. Part 2 will help you more specifically with Reading Comprehension questions, many of which require you to look closely at the details in a passage.

Tip 1: Think PIE

In reading comprehension terms, PIE refers to the potential purpose that an author has written a passage. Is the author primarily trying to Persuade the audience, Inform the audience, or Entertain the audience? Once you have a good handle on the author’s intent, it’s much easier to comprehend a passage.

Tip 2: Monitor yourself

Everyone has had moments when they’re reading something and suddenly realize they haven’t been paying attention at all. Reading is an active practice, so it’s up to you to make sure that you’re remaining engaged. Be aware that you miss important information when your mind drifts, and try to notice the signs that your attention is waning as quickly as you can.

Tip 3: Question the passage

The best way to comprehend a piece of writing is to engage with it, and that means questioning what it’s saying. While you may not have time to write down questions and answers during a testing environment, you can question the reading internally. Here are a few simple and effective questions to ask as you read:

• What is the goal of the author? (This question harkens back to Tip #1: Think PIE).
• What are the most important parts of the passage?
• What could be an opposing viewpoint to this passage?

Tip 4: Look for patterns

Looking for patterns in a passage can help you better identify its main ideas. Repetition is a good pattern to look out for. The author could be repeating words, phrases, or even sentence structure in order to clue readers in on the passage’s intent. You can also look for similarities throughout the passage or even contradictions. Any of these patterns will help you better understand the author’s main idea(s).

Tip 5: Paraphrase difficult text

Since this section of the test will assess your reading comprehension, understanding the passage is obviously crucial. One way to decode a difficult passage is to try to paraphrase it in your own words. After each paragraph, pause and try to paraphrase the information in your head. This will not only help you understand the passage, but it will also help you remember it better.

Let’s put these ideas into practice with two examples:

The basic idea of having elected officials in positions of power in our government is that these people will be representatives of the people who elected them. If the official no longer represents the interests of their electorate, they will be replaced. That’s not how things really work, though. Our government’s corruptibility stems first from the ignorance of the people. I don’t mean this an insult. Our system of government is so complicated that it’s hard to imagine any one person being able to understand every detail of it. We especially can’t expect the average citizen to have time to grasp all those complicated details while still creating a livelihood for their families. Therein lies the problem that elected officials are able to exploit.

According to the passage,

(A) all elected officials are corrupt and untrustworthy.

(B) elected officials need to be replaced if we want anything to get done in our government.

(C) regular citizens need to become more educated about their government.

(D)the American people are ignorant about the intricacies of their government.

 

Tip 1: Think PIE

If you think about PIE, you should be able to correctly label the author’s purpose as “to persuade.” There are some specific words and phrases the author uses to signal that this is a persuasive passage, like “not how things really work,” “insult,” “problem,” and “exploit.” These are all examples of emotionally-charged language, which is used here to try to persuade readers.

Tip 3: Question the passage

If the author is trying to persuade the audience, then what does the author want the reader to believe? The final sentence of the passage makes it clear that the author is pointing out a “problem that elected officials are able to exploit.” This eliminates answer choices (A), (B), and (C) because, while none are outside the realm of possibility, neither of these answer choices gets to the point that the author is actually making.

That leaves only answer choice (D) remaining. While answer choice (D) isn’t the main point of the passage, it is one of the points that leads the author to make their conclusion.

Answer choice (D) is correct.

According to the passage,

(A) all elected officials are corrupt and untrustworthy.

(B) elected officials need to be replaced if we want anything to get done in our government.

(C) regular citizens need to become more educated about their government.

(D)the American people are ignorant about the intricacies of their government.

 

Let’s try one more:

People often criticize Barack Obama for not following through with the promises he made during his campaigns. While that is an accurate criticism of the former president, it would be naïve to think that a president would be able to make every promise happen, especially with all the red tape they have to get through to get anything done. In Obama’s first campaign for president, his slogan was “hope.” While he may not have accomplished everything he set out to, he did succeed in bringing hope. He brought hope to young black children as a role model for what they can achieve; he brought hope to liberals looking for a change from the Bush-era; he brought hope to people who see healthcare as a right and not a benefit. Obama brought hope to our nation, and hope is the most powerful thing in the world.

According to the passage,

(A) Most Americans were sick of the Bush-era.

(B) Obama delivered on most of his campaign promises.

(C) Obama succeeded in inspiring hope to many Americans.

(D) The majority of people think of Obama’s presidency as a failure.

 

Tip 5: Paraphrase difficult text

The second sentence of the passage is a bit complicated. When you come across a long compound sentence, it can be helpful to paraphrase it in order to better understand it. Look at the sentence as it appears in the passage:

While that is an accurate criticism of the former president, it would be naïve to think that a president would be able to make every promise happen, especially with all the red tape they have to get through to get anything done.

If we break that sentence down into parts and paraphrase it, we get the following ideas:

1. Obama didn’t accomplish everything he wanted.
2. No president can fulfill all their promises.
3. The process of making change in the government is complicated.

With this information, we can eliminate answer choice (B).

Tip 4: Look for patterns

If you were paying attention at all while you read, you saw the word “hope.” In fact, you saw it 7 times in this short passage. If you noticed this pattern as you read, you focused on what the passage said about hope because that message is clearly important. Answer choice (C) describes the point of the passage perfectly, and if you paid attention to the author’s pattern of repeating “hope,” then this should have been an easy question.

Answer choice (C) is correct.

Now that you’ve read over Part 2 of our tips for success on the Reading Comprehension section of the ASVAB, put your skills to practice with the review quiz below.

Part 2 Review Quiz:

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Your answers are highlighted below.
Question 1
Even though slavery feels like a thing of the past, modern slavery is still a real problem across the globe. According to a 2016 study, there are around 40 million people living in slavery across the globe today, and 71% (that’s over 28 million) of those people are women, many of whom are enslaved by sex traffickers. Sex trafficking refers to when people, usually young women, are taken from their homes and moved to a new place for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In a common scenario, a young girl is kidnapped from her suburban town, taken to a city in which she has no family or friends, and is forced to work for her captors as a prostitute. In America, sex trafficking is a growing problem, especially for young girls of color.
 

Which of the following is a proper summary for the passage above?

A
Slavery is still a real problem, especially for women, even in America.
B
Sex trafficking is when people are moved for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
C
Slavery is a bigger problem in America than anywhere else.
D
Around 40 million people live in slavery today.
Question 1 Explanation: 
Answer choice (A) is correct because it covers most of what the author writes in the passage. Answer choices (B) and (D) are both mentioned in the passage, but are details that contribute to the real point of the passage. Answer choice (C) is not supported by the passage.
Question 2
Private prisons are a multi-million-dollar business that makes money off of people being incarcerated. With that in mind, it’s hard to look at the government’s attempts to increase mandatory sentences as a real attempt at improving our communities. Following the money, it’s easy to figure out why so many people support heavy prison sentences for minor offenders. With fewer people in prison, there’s less money to be made. No matter how much politicians laud increased mandatory sentences as a form of tough law enforcement, the money will always tell a clearer story.
 

The author implies that

A
people who go to prison deserve the sentence they receive.
B
politicians are making money off of harsher prison sentences.
C
private prisons do not treat their inmates properly while they are incarcerated.
D
the best way to reduce crime is to levy harsher prison sentences.
Question 2 Explanation: 
Answer choice (B) is correct because the author discusses the motive of private prisons: to make money. Then, the author questions politicians who want more people in prison, suggesting that the reader “follow the money.” This implies that politicians have a financial interest in more people going to prison just like the prison owners do. None of the other options is supported by the passage.
Question 3
Everyone loves organic foods, but recent studies have shed some light on just how broad the term “organic” is, and whether we should really be paying this much attention to whether the label says organic or not. One problem with the organic label some from imported foods. Us Customs will often spray pesticides on imported food to protect the country from foreign pests. That nullifies the purpose of an “organic” label, though, since imported food labeled “organic” might contain pesticides that the food was sprayed with at the border. This finding has Americans wondering whether there are other ways in which their seemingly organic products are really any healthier than non-organic food.
 

This writer believes

A
US Customs agents intentionally contaminate organic food.
B
people are stupid to buy organic food.
C
the FDA intentionally mislabels food in order to manipulate Americans.
D
the label “organic” is misleading and inaccurate.
Question 3 Explanation: 
Answer choice (D) is correct because the point of the passage is that the label “organic” isn’t always accurate. Each of the other answer choices is too harsh of a statement to really reflect the writer’s beliefs. The author does not imply that anything is done “intentionally” (A) and (C), nor that people who are tricked by it are “stupid” (B).
Question 4
Most Americans would agree that the country needs significant immigration reform. The disagreement comes when Americans start to discuss what that reform will look like. In the meantime, actual people are being caught in terrible positions because of our countries broken system. There’s no easy solution to this problem, but the solution certainly isn’t locking children up at our borders the way we currently are. Imagine an incredible tragedy occurs in America and you suddenly need to leave your home with your family. You and your children walk hundreds of miles to find refuge, and finally reach the Canadian border. At the border, agents decide to take your children, lock them up, then they send you back to the home you were fleeing. This is essentially what we’re doing to people coming to our southern border. Whether you think we should accept all immigrants at our borders or you think we shouldn’t let anyone new into the country, we should all agree on one thing: separating families and deporting adults is inhumane.
 

The author suggests that the way in which Americans disagree with each other on immigration reform is based on

A
whether or not it is necessary.
B
each citizen’s innate sense of right and wrong.
C
how it will benefit them financially.
D
what it will actually look like.
Question 4 Explanation: 
Answer choice (D) is correct because the author argues that most Americans agree with reform, but disagree on how it should happen. This immediately eliminates answer choice (A). The passage does not discuss the ideas expressed in answer choices (B) and (C).
Question 5
The Oscars have always had trouble shedding the criticism that they are elitist and out of touch with what the majority of people like. Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences give awards to the best movies, performances, and film accomplishments of the year, but often the movies winning the awards go unseen by the general public. In response to this criticism, the Academy briefly announced a new category and then quickly canceled it: Best Popular movie. The idea was to offer a category that would honor the films that draw the biggest crowds. Many critics and industry insider criticized the Academy for this proposal, arguing that those movies get plenty of recognition in the form of the hundreds of millions of dollars they make. With the cancellation of this proposed award, it seems the Academy doesn’t yet have an answer for how they can appeal to a broader audience without diluting the prestige of their awards.
 

The purpose of the passage is to

A
persuade readers that the Academy needs to try harder to reach the populous.
B
describe the problem the Academy faces and one way they thought about solving it.
C
inform readers on the role of the Academy in the Oscar awards.
D
persuade readers to make a greater effort to see Oscar-nominated films.
Question 5 Explanation: 
Answer choice (B) accurately identifies the purpose of the passage. The author begins with a discussion on the image of the Oscars as pretentious, and then explains how the Academy tried to read out to the public with a “Best Popular Movie” category. Answer choices (A) and (D) are incorrect because the passage doesn’t offer a critique on the Academy or the readers. Answer choice (C) is incorrect because it represents a small fact discussed in the passage, not the overall purpose.
Question 6
The way that schools are able to make money off of their college athletes is pretty disgusting. Schools make millions of dollars off of the backs of athletes who, by design, are making no money. This is a problem that has no easy solutions, but the idea that a company can be making billions of dollars while its employees go unpaid is appalling. It’s true that many of these athletes receive payment in the form of a discounted or even free college education. But that isn’t really payment, is it? That model is more akin to indentured servitude than it is to proper compensation. Paying college athletes would change the entire nature of college sports, but what is it that we’re really clinging to here? Is tradition worth the complete exploitation of a labor force? While we wonder what a real solution looks like, colleges keep collecting their money.
 

Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?

A
If people boycott college sports, colleges will have to being paying athletes.
B
Colleges are exploiting their athletes.
C
Paying college athletes will change the entire culture of college sports.
D
College athletes are victims of a system that is similar to indentured servitude.
Question 6 Explanation: 
Answer choice (A) is correct because the passage doesn’t make any direct recommendations for what needs to be done, but rather illustrates how broken the system currently is. The passage discusses each of the other answer choices.
Question 7
Food waste is a global problem, especially considering the number of people across the globe who go without food each day. According to the United Nations, about 1/3 of the food produced around the world is wasted. There are simple ways that you can limit your food waste in your home, like learning about portions, shopping efficiently, and properly storing foods, but food waste is a problem in food sales, too. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are routinely discarded by grocery stores because they are unattractive or misshapen. Good food goes to waste simply because it’s unattractive. One way that companies try to limit food waste is by donating “unattractive” food to food shelters. Another unique and modern way people are trying to limit food waste is through subscription boxes that deliver fresh and delicious vegetables that might not make it to a grocery store shelf directly to customers each month.
 

According to the passage,

A
1/3 of the food produced across the globe is wasted because it’s “unattractive.”
B
learning about portions and shopping efficiently are not doing much to solve the globe’s food waste problem.
C
food is often thrown out by grocers even if it is fresh.
D
food waste is a problem because no one is willing to eat “unattractive” or “misshapen” food.
Question 7 Explanation: 
Answer choice (C) is correct because the passage states that good food is sometimes thrown out by grocers because it is “unattractive” or “misshapen.” These words are mentioned in answer choice (D), but the passage doesn’t suggest that “no one is willing to eat” these foods. In fact, it suggests the opposite. Answer choice (B) is also incorrect because it implies a critique that is not expressed in the passage. Answer choice (D) simply gets the facts wrong. The author suggests that this problem is one of the reasons for food waste, not the only reason.
Question 8
People often joke about it as a coping mechanism, but stress is a real problem that affects millions of Americans. Stress is caused by any emotional or physical tension, and while it can simply be a momentary response to a temporary situation, too much stress too often can cause a lot of serious problems for people. Chronic stress can contribute to poor mental health, depression, and anxiety, or it can contribute to heart disease and high blood pressure. In this way, stress is deadly and needs to be taken very seriously.
 

Based on the passage, the most reasonable inference is that

A
stress is a real problem.
B
people don’t like to seek help for stress.
C
many people die because of stress-related problems.
D
joking about stress is an ineffective coping mechanism.
Question 8 Explanation: 
Although the author doesn’t directly state it, answer choice (C) is correct because when the author describes some stress-related problems, he follows it with “in this way, stress is deadly.” If stress is deadly because of the problems it creates, we can assume that “many people die because of stress-related problems.” Answer choice (A) is true, but it’s directly stated in the passage and requires no inference. Answer choices (B) and (D) are not reflected in the passage at all.
Question 9
One of the most basic marketing techniques is to generate hype for a new product in order to drive up sales. In music, for example, record companies will often advertise for upcoming albums to get people excited about making their purchases. Some modern musical artists, though, are learning that they can be successful using the exact opposite technique. Instead of spending months building anticipation for fans, some musical artists are experimenting with secret albums and mixtapes that they don’t publicize until they suddenly release them. Instead of banking on the suspense that has been created over an album, these artists are capitalizing on the sudden and unexpected release of their music. The surprise is intriguing to fans, and preys more on their impulses than on their anticipation.
 

According to the passage, which of the following explains why these secret albums have been successful?

A
People respond to the hype that has been building for the albums.
B
People want to be a part of something secret and hidden.
C
People respond negatively to hype and prefer to buy albums that aren’t marketed to them.
D
People buy them on impulse because they’re intrigued by them.
Question 9 Explanation: 
Answer choice (D) is correct because it is directly stated in the final sentence of the passage. While answer choices (B) and (C) might be true, the author doesn’t suggest them in the passage. Answer choice (A) is discussed in the passage, but it describes planned, hyped albums rather than secret albums.
Question 10
The true expense of college is not just limited to tuition. “Small” expenses add up pretty quickly for modern college students, and even those who can afford tuition (or at least secure enough loans to postpone payment) still might not be able to afford college. An average college student, for example, can expect to spend an average of $1,200 on textbooks each year. There are alternatives to buying textbooks for students who are looking to save some money. Many online companies offer textbook rental options, which offer textbooks at significant discounts. Options like these can help students afford the aspects of college that people often forget about.
 

What is the purpose of the paragraph?

A
To persuade readers to avoid college because it isn’t worth the cost.
B
To inform readers about how expensive textbooks can be and what they can do to save money.
C
To inform readers about the expense of college tuition and how to secure financial aid.
D
To persuade readers to shop at the writer’s website, where they can rent textbooks for less money than buying them.
Question 10 Explanation: 
Answer choice (B) is correct because the author specifically discusses smaller college expenses that people forget to budget for, like textbooks. While the author does suggest alternatives such as book-rental websites, they don’t suggest any specific site, so answer choice (D) is inaccurate. Answer choice (C) doesn’t work because the author doesn’t discuss financial aid in the passage, and answer choice (A) is incorrect because the author doesn’t conclude that college itself is not worth the cost.
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