ISEE Reading Comprehension Practice Questions
Now that you’ve learned some strategies for the reading comprehension section of the ISEE, check out some ISEE reading comprehension practice questions. You’ll see easier, lower-level passages first and more difficult, higher-level passages towards the end of the quiz.
Passage 1
Answer 1
D: (D) is better than (C) because (C) only covers the first paragraph, whereas (D) is broad enough to cover the whole passage.
Answer 2
B: In the context of the second sentence, “acutely” means extremely.
Answer 3
A: “China” is the correct answer, judging from the fourth sentence of the first paragraph.
Answer 4
D: The problem before 1966 was not that there was no smallpox immunization; the problem was that no worldwide campaign had been launched to wipe out the disease
Answer 5
B: (B) paraphrases the final sentence of the passage and is correct.
Passage 2
Answer 6
D: The second sentence of the passage supports (D) as the correct answer.
Answer 7
E: (E) is the one that captures the central focus of the passage without being too narrow or too broad.
Answer 8
C: One way the international community responded to the ozone problem was to ban CFCs and other pollutants; this is supposed stop ozone loss by the turn of the century. From this, you can infer that ozone loss was due to pollutants, (C).
Answer 9
B: The author uses the greenhouse image to describe the effect of increased radiation on the climate of the Earth.
Answer 10
E: (E) is correct because the last sentence of the passage says that “total ozone recovery” will not occur for more than 100 years.
Passage 3
Answer 11
A: Remember to look for relevant details directly in the text. “Life is a stream” is the opening line of the poem; the correct choice will contain only statement I. (A) is correct. (B) and (D) contain statement II, which is incorrect. (C) and (E) contain statement III, which is incorrect.
Answer 12
D: Inferences need to be supported by the text. In the poem, the writer stands on the bank of a stream (of life) and tosses flower petals in, after which they drift out of view: “Their distant employ / we shall never know.” (D) describes the writer’s comfortable uncertainty regarding the path of the rose petals. (A) Out of Scope; sinking or floating is not mentioned in the poem. (B) Out of Scope; eddy currents are not mentioned in the poem. (C) Misused Detail; the roses’ color is not relevant. (E) Distortion; the narrator is not asleep.
Answer 13
B: This question asks about the broader sense of the poem. Look carefully for specific words in the poem to support a particular interpretation. In the symbolism of the poem, the rose (“flower of our heart”) is tossed petal by petal into the stream of life; the petals “widening scope…we never shall know.” The emphasis on the heart and the lingering fragrance of the flower suggests that love is symbolized in the poem, (B). (A) Misused Detail; “employ” is not the same as employment. (C) Out of Scope; death is not a subject of the poem. (D) Misused Detail; “joy” does not describe the petals at all points on their drift. (E) Opposite; life is symbolized by the stream; the petals are carried on by life.
Answer 14
C: Poetry questions requiring Inference need to be answered carefully, finding specific words to support each claim. The representation of life as a stream, unknowable in destination, communicates unpredictability. The author comfortably states that once petals are launched, “each one is gone,” (C). (A) Opposite; life as a stream does not allow for predicted consequences. (B) Extreme; “We only watch their glad, early start” communicates greater influence over the beginning of life experiences. (D) Extreme; “its fragrance still stays,” so something remains of early experiences. (E) Out of Scope; the poem does not address friendship.