Praxis Reading Practice Questions

A: Remember to predict a word to substitute for the word in context. The sentence claims “stem cell research has the potential to assuage or completely halt the advance of devastating diseases.” “Assuage” must mean something related to stopping the advance of diseases, but less than “completely halting” them. Predict a word like reduce. This matches choice (A). Choice (B) is incorrect because it is too extreme, being too close in meaning to “completely halt.” Choices (C) and (E) have the opposite of the intended meaning and make no sense in context. Choice (D) also does not work in context; “assuage” can mean “satisfy” in some contexts (as in “assuaging hunger”), but it does not make sense that the “advance of . . . diseases” can be “satisfied.”

B: Be sure to identify the components of the author’s argument and make a prediction of what could constitute an alternate hypothesis before looking at the answer choices. The author concludes that the Mesoamericans did not have a need to carry heavy loads based on the evidence that wheels were used for toys but not for transport vehicles. The author makes the assumption that the only reason the Mesoamericans would not have applied wheel technology to transport vehicles is that there was no need to carry heavy loads. Predict that an alternate hypothesis would be a different reason for not applying wheel technology to transport. This matches choice (B), as it provides another reason for not applying the wheel technology: lack of animals capable of pulling a heavy wheeled vehicle. Choice (A) is incorrect because it provides information about the children’s toys but does not give an alternate hypothesis for not applying wheel technology to transport. Choice (C) is incorrect because there could be other possible reasons for using the wheel for transport (such as farming or short-distance trade) besides just long-distance trade. Choice (D) is irrelevant as a reason for not applying the wheel for transport. Choice (E) only serves as a potential weakener to the author’s original hypothesis, rather than providing a potential alternate hypothesis, in its suggestion that the Mesoamericans actually did have a need for carrying heavy loads using the wheel.

C: Read the surrounding lines for context and then predict a word that could be substituted for the cited word. The relevant sentence begins with the Structural Keyword “rather,” which indicates the contrast between presenting “images in a very detailed or realistic way” and the “reduced and simplified” style of O’Keeffe. Notice that the word in question must therefore contrast with “detailed” and be a synonym for “simplified”; predict a word like minimal. Choice (C) matches this prediction. Choices (A) and (D) are both words that mean “small in size,” which is not suggested by the context. Choice (B) incorrectly refers to either low monetary value or a negative view of O’Keeffe’s art, neither of which is indicated by the author. Choice (E) does not fit in context, as it does not make sense that “colors and shapes” could be “humbled.”

A: Although you cannot make a specific prediction, keep in mind the overall trends of the table when evaluating the answer choices. Choice (A) is correct; Katie watched 12 hours of news programming every month of last year. Select choice (A) and move on to the next question. Choice (B) is incorrect because Katie watched more hours of comedy and of drama than she did of documentary. Choice (C) is incorrect because Katie watched the most total hours in September. (D) is incorrect because Katie’s hours spent watching reality programs varied from month to month. Choice (E) is incorrect because even if Katie had watched more hours of comedy than anything else, you could not reach the conclusion that Katie’s favorite genre necessarily corresponds with whichever one she watched the most.