{"id":23235,"date":"2026-02-09T15:11:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=23235"},"modified":"2026-02-09T21:12:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:12:00","slug":"asvab-word-knowledge-and-paragraph-comprehension-practice-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/asvab\/asvab-word-knowledge-and-paragraph-comprehension-practice-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"ASVAB Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension Practice Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Try\u00a0out these practice questions to see if you&#8217;re ready to take the <a title=\"asvab\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/asvab\/books\">ASVAB<\/a>!<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_promobox  avia-builder-el-first '><div id=\"custom_html-56\" class=\"widget_text widget clearfix widget_custom_html\"><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><div><div class='op-interactive' id='63b8b8d286acf16df15a66be' data-title='ASVAB Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension Quiz' data-url='https:\/\/kaplannorthamerica.outgrow.us\/63b8b8d286acf16df15a66be?vHeight=1' data-width='100%'><\/div><script src='\/\/dyv6f9ner1ir9.cloudfront.net\/assets\/js\/nloader.js'><\/script><script>initIframe('63b8b8d286acf16df15a66be');<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/span><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_sidebar  el_before_av_toggle_container '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Question 1<\/strong><br \/>\nSelect the answer choice that most closely matches the meaning of the italicized word.<br \/>\nThe professor did his best to appear universally\u00a0<i>erudite<\/i>, even when asked questions about subjects he knew little about.<br \/>\nA.\u00a0civil<br \/>\nB.\u00a0progressive<br \/>\nC.\u00a0amoral<br \/>\nD.\u00a0scholarly<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_promobox \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-1\">Answer 1<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-1\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><p><b>D:\u00a0<\/b>The professor wants to appear erudite even when he doesn\u2019t know much about a subject. You can predict from the context that erudite means \u201clearned.\u201d Choice (D) scholarly means \u201clearned\u201d and is the correct answer. Civil, progressive, and amoral don\u2019t relate to knowing a lot about a certain subject.<\/p>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Question 2<\/strong><br \/>\nSelect the answer choice that most closely matches the meaning of the italicized word.<br \/>\nShe displayed\u00a0<i>fortitude<\/i>\u00a0in finishing the race despite the pain in her foot.<br \/>\nA.\u00a0speed<br \/>\nB.\u00a0cheerfulness<br \/>\nC.\u00a0courage<br \/>\nD.\u00a0vulnerability<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_promobox \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-2\">Answer 2<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-2\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><p><b>C:\u00a0<\/b>Because she finished the race even though she was in pain, you know she was pretty tough. This aligns with her showing (C) courage. If anything, a sore foot implies that she ran more slowly than usual, so speed doesn\u2019t fit. You don\u2019t know whether she showed (B) cheerfulness or was gritting her teeth with every step. Choice (D) vulnerability, or \u201cweakness,\u201d is the opposite of what you need here.<\/p>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Question 3<\/strong><br \/>\nSelect the answer choice that most closely matches the meaning of the italicized word.<br \/>\n<i>Abnegate<\/i>\u00a0most nearly means<br \/>\nA.\u00a0approve<br \/>\nB.\u00a0deny<br \/>\nC.\u00a0hope<br \/>\nD.\u00a0recognize<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_promobox \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-3\">Answer 3<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-3\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><p><b>B:\u00a0<\/b>The root word negate within abnegate means \u201cto deny the existence of something.\u201d The prefix ab\u2013 means \u201caway from,\u201d so to abnegate means \u201cto turn one\u2019s back on or reject.\u201d This makes choice (B), deny, the correct answer.<\/p>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Question 4<\/strong><br \/>\nAccording to the following paragraph, who first conquered Mount Everest?<br \/>\n<em>Since its first official documentation by Sir George Everest in 1865, Mount Everest in Nepal has been the \u201cHoly Grail\u201d of mountaineers. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to successfully complete the ascent to the peak in May 1953. His feat won him international acclaim, not to mention knighthood. But much less celebrated is the first successful ascent of Everest by a woman, which did not take place until May 16, 1975. Junko Tabei of Japan was the first woman to reach the summit of the world\u2019s most famous single peak. The first American woman to scale its heights successfully was Stacy Allison of Portland in 1988.<\/em><br \/>\nA.\u00a0Sir George Everest<br \/>\nB.\u00a0Junko Tabei<br \/>\nC.\u00a0Sir Edmund Hillary<br \/>\nD.\u00a0Stacy Allison<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-8  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_promobox \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-4\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-4\">Answer 4<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-4\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><p><b>C:\u00a0<\/b>This Detail question asks you for the first person to conquer Mount Everest. Researching the passage, you must be careful not to assume that the mountain is named for its conqueror. While Sir George Everest, (A), first documented and recorded the height of Everest in 1865, it was (C) Sir Edmund Hillary who completed the first ascent to the peak in 1953. The question does not ask for the first woman, or the first American woman, to reach the summit, so (B) Junko Tabei and (D) Stacy Allison are out. The correct answer is (C).<\/p>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-9  el_after_av_toggle_container  el_before_av_toggle_container '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\n<strong>Question 5<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat can you infer from the following passage?<br \/>\n<i>In 1918, as the world prepared to celebrate the end of World War I, a stealthier form of death appeared: the so-called \u201cSpanish influenza.\u201d It is said that this strain of influenza killed more in a single year than the bubonic plague killed in a century. The outbreak gave modern scientists their first close look at a worldwide pandemic and paved the way for great advances in medicine. Furthermore, the unprecedented number of patients led to a boom in the medical field. One lasting result was an increase in pay for doctors, encouraging many to enter the profession. It could be said that the Spanish flu introduced the idea of \u201cmedicine for profit\u201d to the world.<\/i><br \/>\nA.\u00a0advances in medicine in the early twentieth century would not have happened without the outbreak of the Spanish flu<br \/>\nB.\u00a0scientists know little about the cause of the bubonic plague<br \/>\nC.\u00a0a doctor today might not have chosen to enter the medical profession before World War I<br \/>\nD.\u00a0the huge numbers of Spanish flu patients overwhelmed the available medical care and resulted in drafting more doctors to deal with the epidemic<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  class=\"togglecontainer   toggle_close_all  avia-builder-el-10  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_promobox \" >\n<section class=\"av_toggle_section\"  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\"  >    <div role=\"tablist\" class=\"single_toggle\" data-tags=\"{All} \"  >        <p data-fake-id=\"#toggle-id-5\" class=\"toggler \"  itemprop=\"headline\"    role=\"tab\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"toggle-id-5\">Answer 5<span class=\"toggle_icon\" >        <span class=\"vert_icon\"><\/span><span class=\"hor_icon\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>        <div id=\"toggle-id-5\" class=\"toggle_wrap \"  >            <div class=\"toggle_content invers-color \"  itemprop=\"text\"   ><p><b>C:\u00a0<\/b>The question asks for an inference that can be drawn from the passage but provides no clues about the nature of the inference. Each answer choice must be compared with the information given to identify the one choice that must be true based on the passage. The correct answer is supported by the fifth sentence, \u201cOne lasting result was an increase in pay for doctors, encouraging many to enter the profession.\u201d If many people were encouraged to become doctors because of higher pay, we can infer that lower pay before World War I was a deterrent to entering the profession. The word \u201clasting\u201d implies that higher pay is still motivating more people to become doctors today. Choice (A) is extreme; even though the flu brought about advances, you cannot infer that advances would not have happened anyway. Choice (B) is unsupported by any facts presented. Choice (D) distorts the facts given. Doctors were encouraged by higher pay, not drafted. Also, there is no evidence that medical care was overwhelmed by the unprecedented numbers of patients. In fact, the patients caused a \u201cboom\u201d in the field.<\/p>\n            <\/div>        <\/div>    <\/div><\/section>\n<\/div><br \/>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-yes   avia-builder-el-11  el_after_av_toggle_container  avia-builder-el-last '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\nWant more practice like this? Check out Kaplan&#8217;s ASVAB Total Prep Book!<\/p>\n<\/div><div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-right ' ><a href='https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/ASVAB-Total-Prep-2025-2026-Kaplan\/dp\/150629720X?crid=37TVIAKCBKVLZ&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jGI7BoCiebg-zubp7JWt4Y150_Rq5T_2Ce2URvMJlImYbMc2tBi_5nQqSGmSZxpUblztrYCMTLuS6RLU2eqP_LEZOCh9YWsEQFhcoNDmmYypIxaBfceDGSl708OTCcr5I37m-a6y87ED-PuZPidl7WsKjQC00y-jAOqIIN-vhSnvDnyTNTmkVfnaOAIZWcq0pqFyjspu5OtoB9qJvx1gRqlJF3yIAcMZoOU4YbACNdU.2HPpqWa_feymFVZXkOjDkk0cde8emtu4bOpPWxkAMu8&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=kaplan+asvab+prep+plus+2025-2026&amp;qid=1769193894&amp;sprefix=Kaplan+ASVAB%2Caps%2C239&amp;sr=8-2&amp;linkCode=ll2&amp;tag=kaptest-asvab-product-page-20&amp;linkId=ef8d500350fbfb7c8781631e5eb2bdec&amp;language=en_US&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl '  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color   avia-icon_select-no avia-size-large avia-position-right '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >ASVAB Total Prep Book<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Try\u00a0out these practice questions to see if you&#8217;re ready to take the ASVAB!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49175,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[302],"tags":[303],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23235"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23235"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49178,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23235\/revisions\/49178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}