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MSU SASE Reviewer - Reading Comprehension PDF
MSU SASE Reviewer - Reading Comprehension PDF
ENGLISH
READING COMPREHENSION
DIRECTIONS: In this subtest you will read several passages. Each one is followed by several questions
about it. For items 1-42, you are to choose the one best answer, A, B, C, and D, to each question. Then
encircle the letter that corresponds to your choice. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis
of what is started or implied in that passage.
Selection A (Items 1 – 8)
1. One reason that so many people fail is that they lack confidence in themselves. If you think of
yourself as being unworthy of great achievement, you will never achieve greatness. If, on the
other hand, you know yourself and understand what your abilities are, and if then you are
determined to accomplish everything of which you are capable, you will then realize all your
possibilities and gain confidence in yourself.
2. One of the surest ways to accomplish this is for you to associate with persons who have really
achieved greatness. It is impossible, however, for most people to come frequently into the
actual presence of the great. The next best thing, perhaps, is for you to spend part of your time
in reading about great achievers. Biography is a powerful stimulant to action.
3. But these processes will not work unless you rid yourself of a sense of inferiority and determine
to do the best that you possibly can. One of the great philosophers expressed the idea in a single
sentence when he said that each individual should hitch his wagon to a star.
3. What word is synonymous or closest in meaning to the sword “hitch” as used in the last sentence
of the selection?
A. drive B. fasten C. detach D. remove
4. Successful people are different from those who are not because they
A. Work hard at having faith in their abilities.
B. Persevere to achieve greatness.
C. Hesitate to take risk by themselves.
D. Disregard the opinions of others.
5. What does the saying “Each individual should hitch his wagon to a start” mean?
A. One should try to fulfill all his ambitions in life.
B. A person should emulate his ideal person.
C. A person should aim as high as he could reach.
D. One should wish upon a star to make his dreams come true.
6. What literary technique was used by the writer in presenting his ideas?
A. Narration C. Comparing ideas
B. Detailed analysis D. Giving suggestions
1. Asia’s new generation of kids has more than just youth in common. Whether in Manila,
Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta or Tokyo, whether rich or poor, urban or
rural, delinquent or not, Asia’s youngsters share many things. They go to schools, sing-
along bars, fast food outlets, rock concert and rallies. They are dressed in wild costumes
of screaming colors or black, leather jackets, outsized t-shirts and candy-colored sneakers.
2. In Manila, they are particularly called “bagets”. Their pursuits, though seemingly inane
are innocent – singing-along with the gang at the malls, sharing cheeseburgers and sodas
or cruising the commercial center of Cubao and Makati.
3. In Bangkok, they will wander about the Siam Shopping Center, in Singapore, in the
Shopping complexes of Orchard Road. They are kids of Asia’s great cities, avant-
garde, rebellious, modernized. They are exposed to imported television that usher in
international values.
4. In Hong Kong, the kids have been described as precocious, world-wise, and materialistic,
governed less by teachers and parents than by the omnipresent television. Peer group
influence is great. Their trademarks are smoking, foul language, bizarre and attention-
getting appearance, and rude mannerisms.
5. In Japan, they look like different race to the old generation. There is rising drug abuse,
sexual freedom, crime and homosexuality among the youth. There’s less respect given to
parents and to the aged.
11. What is worth observing and good about the youth beneath the modern image and westernized
lifestyle?
A. The youth are still the easy-go-lucky type
B. Many of them still believe in traditional values
C. They share a common character as influenced by the media.
D. The values of the new generation have been modified by modernization.
12. When the author said that Asian youth are avant-garde, it means that they
A. are behind the times C. are promiscuous and stubborn
B. have old-fashioned thoughts D. practice new and experimental ideas
14. If the youth are exposed to too much western television they will likely
A. develop foreign values and forget traditional ones.
B. become complacent and indifferent.
C. become aggressive and violent
D. develop an independent mind.
15. What literary technique was used by the author in writing the selection?
A. Comparing B. Describing C. Making a profile D. Narrating events
Selection C (Items 16 – 22)
1. In the year 1799, an officer of the French Army was stationed in a small fortress on the
Rosetta River, a mouth of the Nile, near Alexander, Egypt. He was interested in the
ruins of the ancient Egyptian civilization, and had seen the sphinx and the pyramids,
those mysterious structures that were erected by men of another era.
2. One day, as a trench was being dug, he found a piece of black slate on which letters had
been carved. He had studied Greek in school, and knew this was as inscription written in
that language. There were two more lines carved into the stone: one in the Egyptian
characters he had seen on the ruins, the other in completely unfamiliar characters.
3. The officer realized the importance of such a find, and relinquished it to scholars who
had been puzzling over Egyptian inscriptions.
4. In 1802, a French professor by the name of Champollion began studying the stone in an
attempt to decipher the two unknown sets of characters using the Greek letters as a key.
He worked with the stone for over 20 years, and in 1823, announced that he had
discovered the meaning of the fourteen signs, and in doing so, had unlocked the secret
of ancient Egyptian writing.
5. Some 5000 years after an unknown person had made those three inscriptions, the Rosetta
Stone became a key, unlocking the written records of Egypt and sharing the history of
that civilization with the rest of the world.
18. What word would best describe ancient Egyptians based on the selection?
A. dedicated B. resourceful C. wise D. gifted
19. What might have happened if the Rosetta Stone were not found?
A. Egyptian civilization would have flourished.
B. Ancient Egypt would not have reached the peak of its glory.
C. Ancient Egyptians would not have known of their cultural heritage.
D. Egyptian civilization would not have been fully understood by the modern world.
20. What does the lone sentence in the third paragraph mean?
A. The owner of the Rosetta Stone tried to sell it to scholars.
B. The Egyptian scholars were puzzled by the inscriptions found in the Rosetta Stone.
C. The founder of the Rosetta Stone knew of its value and turned it over to the proper authorities.
D. The officer did not think the Rosetta Stone had much value and therefore gave it away.
21. What literary technique was used by the writer in developing the selection?
A. Detailed analysis C. Narrative chronological order of events
B. Comparison and contrast of ideas D. Repetition of important points for emphasis
1. The complacent Filipino majority may not have been awakened yet to the reality of a ravaged
environment; nonetheless, the evidence must be overemphasized. Automotive vehicles for one,
reportedly contribute 94.6 million tons of waste released into the air each year; a commuter can
only imagine how polluted the air that gets into his respiratory system is.
2. Pollution experts are inclined to single out man as the culprit of his own destruction. Man, rightly
referred to as a “messy animal,” has helped bring about untold environmental decay.
3. Imperiled by the pollution of air, water and land are not only human lives. The marine species as
well as the flora and fauna are just adversely affected. Mass suicides of fishes and whales have
been witnessed along Australian and American shorelines.
4. The mushrooming of factories and plants along river banks have been largely responsible for the
pollution of the different bodies of water; indiscriminate disposal of industrial waste makes
festering sinks of the rivers. Too much dumpling of industrial waste renders to water stagnant.
Many of the rivers that used to flow along industrial banks can use some dredging. And yet what
good will dredging of a river do if in no time at all it will serve again as a dumping basin? The
initiative has to come from the factory owners.
5. A great number of scientists like to think that new technology can be called upon to check the
impending pollution disaster, others are of the opinion that fewer births and less gadgetry may yet
provide the answer to the devastating dilemma. It cannot be denied, however, that man’s wasteful
ways call for some measure of discipline.
6. Man’s brutality toward his environment will only lead to his unmarking. It is ironical, indeed, hat
he who was created to have dominion over every living creature on earth should one day be
overpowered by an environment he has helped to pollute. The catastrophe can hopefully still be
averted.
24. The phrase “mushrooming of factories” are used in the fourth paragraph of the selection refers to
factories which are
A. built B. destroyed C. maintained D. abandoned
25. In what part of the selection can you read of the ways we can prevent pollution?
A. First paragraph B. Fourth paragraph C. Fifth paragraph D. Last paragraph
26. Who is referred to in the phrase “a messy animal” in the second paragraph of the selection?
A. Fishes and whales B. Flora and fauna C. Scientist D. Man
28. What would be the likely outcome if we continue polluting our environment?
A. Man will be destroyed by an environment he had polluted.
B. Less births and less gadgetry will save the world from catastrophe.
C. Technology can help check the problem on environmental pollution.
D. Man’s wasteful ways will contribute more to the pollution of the environment.
29. Which of the following statements show a cause and effect relationship?
A. Man’s wasteful ways are a perennial problem.
B. Man’s brutality toward his destruction.
C. The marine species and the flora and fauna are adversely affected.
D. Mass suicide of fishes and whales have been seen along coastlines.
Selection E (Items 30 – 36)
1. When the women’s liberation movement started, among the man issues raised by feminists
was the relevance of beauty contest. It was felt that the competitions were exploitative and
demeaning to women. It would seem, that the campaign to discourage contest has had so far
very limited success. Certainly there have been achievements. Some competitions were
launched which focused more on the contestants’ talents than their pulchritude.
2. Despite some developments, however, there are very strong indicators that feminist have not
really discouraged the holding of beauty competitions nor the participation of many women
who seem to look upon them as the stepping stone toward glamorous careers like modeling
and acting.
3. Every year still sees the birth of many new beauty contest and many women have made a career
of joining every competition. Contestants have displayed the fierce determination one expects
to see only among prizefighters. There was, for instance, this Italian beauty who participated
in the Miss Universe pageant. Eager to make the members of the board of judges notice her
and possibly award her the title, the signorina sashayed across the stage deliberately forgetting
whatever it was she was supposed to be wearing during that portion of the program.
4. While not many women will probably go to the same lengths to get the attention, the fact
remains that the word is still full of ladies of all ages eager to participate in any beauty contest.
Thus, new contest are being launched each year just to accommodate all these women who
would like to be known as Miss Somebody sometime during their lifetime.
31. What is meant by the phrase “stepping stone” as used in the second paragraph?
A. a good-luck charm C. a bridge to get to the other side
B. an accessory to one’s attire D. an initial step towards one’s goal
32. According to the author, what career do most beauty contestants aspire for?
A. modeling B. advertising C. broadcasting D. television hosting
33. What is the primary reason why young women all over the world are eager to join beauty
contests?
A. To get rich and lead a privileged life C. To be able to travel to another country
B. To meet more friends around the world D. To have an opportunity to start a glamorous career
34. One contestant in a beauty pageant deliberately did not wear the proper attire in order to
A. catch the attention of the judges. C. entertain the audience.
B. be different from the others. D. make fun of herself.
36. What does the author mean when he said “it was felt that the competitions were exploitative and
demeaning to women”?
A. Feminists felt that beauty contests are a waste of precious time to women.
B. Feminists felt that beauty contests were dishonorable and disrespectful to women.
C. The author felt that beauty competitions are a source of pride to women.
D. The author felt that beauty competitions are meaningless and irrelevant.
Selection F (Item 37 – 43)
1. This is a true story of something that happened just a few years ago in a foreign university:
2. There was a professor of philosophy in a school who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary
goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God did not
exist. His students were always afraid to argue with him because of his impeccable logic. For twenty
years he taught his subject and no one ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some argued
in class at times, but no one ever really went against him because of his reputation.
3. At the end of every semester, on the last day, he would say to his class of 30 students, “if there is
anyone here who still believes in God, stand up.” In those twenty years, no one ever stood up. They
knew what he was going to do next. He would say, “Because anyone who believes in God is a fool.
If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple
task to prove that He is God, and yet He can’t do it.”
4. And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter
into a hundred pieces. All of the students would do nothing but to stop and stare. Most of the
students thought indeed that God couldn’t exist.
5. Well, a few years ago there was a freshman who happened to enroll. He had heard the stories about
this professor. He was required to take the class for his major, and he was afraid. But for three
months that semester, he prayed every morning that he would have the courage to stand up, no
matter what the professor said, or what the class thought. Nothing they said could ever shatter his
faith.
6. Finally, the day came. The professor said, “If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand
up!”
7. The professor and the class of 30 people looked at him, shocked, as he rose from his seat at the
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out of the lecture room. The young man, who had stood, proceeded to walk to the front of the room
and shared his faith for the next half hour.
38. In what sway was the new student different from the other students?
a. he has a stronger faith. C. he knows what he is fighting for.
b. he is smarter and brighter. D. he is ambitious and aggressive.
39. Which paragraph mentions how the new student prepared for his encounter with his atheist
professor?
a. Paragraph 3 B. Paragraph 5 C. Paragraph 7 D. Paragraph 8
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