Developing reading comprehension skills

LESSON 2
DETAIL, NEGATIVE, AND SCANNING ITEMS

 DETAIL ITEMS
Detail items ask about explicit facts and details given in the passage. They often:
 contain one of the wh-question words: who, what, when, where, why, how much…
 begin with the phrases “According to the passage...”or “According to the author...”
 When you see these phrases, you know that the information needed to answer the question is directly
stated somewhere in the passage (unlike answers for inference questions).

Techniques:
• Focus on names, dates, or other nouns—something that will be easy to find as you scan. Lock these words
in your mind.
• Scan the passage, looking for these words or their synonyms. Look only for these words. Do NOT try to
read every word of the passage.
• When you find the key words in the passage, carefully read the sentence in which they occur. You may
have to read the sentence preceding or following that sentence as well.
• Compare the information you read with the four answer choices.
Correct answers for detail questions are seldom the same, word for word, as information in the
passage; they often contain synonyms and use different grammatical structures.

 NEGATIVE ITEMS
These items ask you to determine which of the four choices is not given in the passage. These questions
contain the words NOT, EXCEPT, or LEAST (which are always capitalized).
Sample questions:
• According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT
• Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
• Which of the following is the LEAST likely...
Scan the passage to find the answers that ARE correct or ARE mentioned in the passage.

 SCANNING ITEMS
These items ask you to find a sentence (or sometimes a paragraph) in the passage that plays a certain role
in the organization of a paragraph or passage.
 Use the same techniques for scanning that are given for detail items.
Sample Questions
• Underline the sentence in Paragraph 1 that explains...
• Underline the sentence in Paragraph 3 that discusses...
• Underline the sentence in Paragraph 4 that stresses...
• Underline the paragraph in the passage that outlines...

EXERCISE 1
Focus: Reading passages to locate answers for scanning items
For each question, locate the sentences in the paragraphs that the questions refer to and underline them.
Passage 1
Antlers grow from permanent knoblike bones on a deer’s skull. Deer use their antlers chiefly to fight
for mates or for leadership of a herd. Among most species of deer, only the males have antlers, but both male
and female reindeer and caribou have antlers. Musk deer and Chinese water deer do not have antlers at all.
Deer that live in mild or cold climates lose their antlers each winter. New ones begin to grow the next
spring. Deer that live in tropical climates may lose their antlers and grow new ones at other times of the year.
New antlers are soft and tender. Thin skin grows over the antlers as they develop. Short, fine hair on the skin
makes it look like velvet. Full-grown antlers are hard and strong. The velvety skin dries up and the deer rubs
the skin off by scraping its antlers against trees. The antlers fall off several months later.
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The size and shape of a deer’s antlers depend on the animal’s age and health. The first set grows
when the deer is from 1 to 2 years old. On most deer, the first antlers are short and straight. As deer get older,
their antlers grow larger and form intricate branches.
1. Find the sentence in paragraph 1 that explains how deer primarily use their antlers.
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2. Find the sentence in paragraph 2 that explains how deer remove the skin from their antlers.
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3. Find the sentence in paragraph 3 that describes the antlers of young deer.
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Passage 2
Not until the 1830s was there any serious attempt to record the songs and stories of Native
Americans. Henry Schoolcraft collected a great deal of authentic folklore from the Ojibwa tribe and from
several other groups. But Schoolcraft lived in a romantic age. There seems to be little doubt that he not only
changed but also invented some of the material, and that he mixed the traditions of several tribes. In spite of
his failings, he did succeed in bringing the traditions of Native Americans to the attention of the American
public.
Schoolcraft’s work contrasted sharply with that of the ethnographers who worked in the last decade
of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth. Their aim was to achieve complete accuracy in
creating a record of Native American life. They tended to take notes in the original language. With the
development of the phonograph, it became possible to preserve not just words but also the tone and emphasis
of oral delivery.
4. Find the sentence in paragraph 1 that indicates how Schoolcraft’s work had a positive influence.
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5. Find the sentence in paragraph 2 that explains what the primary goal of the ethnographers was.
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Passage 3
Because of exposure to salt spray and fog, coastal and ocean structures such as bridges, pipelines,
ships, and oil rigs require more corrosion protection than structures located inland. One study found that
anticorrosion coatings with a twenty-five-year lifespan inland were good for only five years in coastal areas.
Seeking to reduce maintenance coasts for gantries and other structures at the Kennedy Space Center on
Florida’s Atlantic Coast, NASA (the National Aeronautic and Space Administration) conducted research
aimed at developing a superior coating. This coating had to resist salt corrosion as well as
protect launch structures from hot rocket exhaust. The successful research resulted in a new type of inorganic
coating that has many commercial applications.
6. Find the sentence in the passage that outlines the qualities for the coating that were required by NASA.
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Passage 4
Today’s supermarket is a large departmentalized retail store. It sells mostly food items, but also
health and beauty aids, house wares, magazines, and much more. The dominant features of supermarkets are
large in-store inventories on self-service aisles and centralized checkout lines.
The inclusion of non-food items on supermarket shelves was once considered novel. This practice is
sometimes called “scrambled marketing.” It permits the supermarket, as well as other types of retail stores, to
sell items that carry a higher margin than most food items. In general, however, supermarket profits are
slim—only about 1 to 3 percent. Owners rely on high levels of inventory turnover to reach their profit goals.
Supermarkets were among the first retailers to stress discount strategies. Using these strategies,
supermarkets sell a variety of high-turnover goods at low prices. To keep prices down, of course,
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supermarkets must keep their costs down. Other than the cost of the goods they sell, supermarkets’ primary
costs involve personnel.
By not offering delivery and by hiring cashiers and stockers rather than true sales personnel,
supermarkets are able to keep prices at a relatively low level.
7. Find the sentence in paragraph 1 that gives the most important characteristics of supermarkets.
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8. Find the sentence in paragraph 2 that explains the advantage of “scrambled marketing.”
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9. Find the sentence in paragraph 3 that explains how supermarkets are able to sell goods cheaply.
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EXERCISE 2
Focus: Answering factual, negative, and scanning questions about reading passages
Read the following passages and the questions about them. Decide which of the choices—(A), (B), (C), or
(D)—best answers the question, and mark the answer.
Passage 1
Mesa Verde is the center of the prehistoric Anasazi culture. It is located in the high plateau lands near
Four Corners, where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona come together. This high ground is majestic
but not forbidding. The climate is dry but tiny streams trickle at the bottom of deeply cut canyons, where
seeps and springs provided water for the Anasazi to irrigate their crops. Rich red soil provided fertile ground
for their crops of corn, beans, squash, tobacco, and cotton.The Anasazi domesticated the wild turkey and
hunted deer, rabbits, and mountain sheep.
For a thousand years the Anasazi lived around Mesa Verde. Although the Anasazi are not related to
the Navajos, no one knows what these Indians called themselves, and so they are commonly referred to by
their Navajo name, Anasazi, which means “ancient ones” in the Navajo language.
Around 550A.D., early Anasazi—then a nomadic people archaeologists call the Basketmakers—
began constructing permanent homes on mesa tops. In the next 300 years, the Anasazi made rapid
technological advancements, including the refinement of not only basket-making but also pottery-making
and weaving. This phase of development is referred to as the Early Pueblo Culture.
By the Great Pueblo Period (1100–1300 A.D.), the Anasazi population swelled to more than 5,000
and the architecturally ambitious cliff dwellings came into being. The Anasazi moved from the mesa tops
onto ledges on the steep canyon walls, creating two- and three-story dwellings. They used sandstone blocks
and mud mortar. There were no doors on the first floor and people used ladders to reach the first roof. All the
villages had underground chambers called kivas. Men held tribal councils there and also used them for secret
religious ceremonies and clan meetings. Winding paths, ladders, and steps cut into the stone led from the
valleys below to the ledges on which the villages stood. The largest settlement contained 217 rooms. One
might surmise that these dwellings were built for protection, but the Anasazi had no known enemies and
there is no sign of conflict.
But a bigger mystery is why the Anasazi occupied these structures such a short time. By 1300, Mesa
Verde was deserted. It is conjectured that the Anasazi abandoned their settlements because of drought,
overpopulation, crop failure, or some combination of these. They probably moved southward and were
incorporated into the pueblo villages that the Spanish explorers encountered 200 years later. Their
descendants still live in the Southwest.
1. The passage does NOT mention that the Anasazi hunted
(A) sheep. (B) turkeys. (C) deer. (D) rabbits.
2. The name that the Anasazi used for themselves
(A) means “Basketmakers” in the Navajo language. (B) is unknown today.
(C) was given to them by archaeologists.
(D) means “ancient ones” in the Anasazi language.
3. How long did the Early Pueblo Culture last?
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(A) 200 years (B) 300 years (C) 550 years (D) 1,000 years
4. Where did the Anasazi move during the Great Pueblo Period?
(A) To settlements on ledges of canyon walls (B) To pueblos in the South
(C) Onto the tops of the mesas (D) Onto the floors of the canyons
5. According to the passage, the Anasazi buildings were made primarily of
(A) mud. (B) blocks of wood.
(C) sandstone. (D) the skins of animals.
6. According to the passage, the Anasazi entered their buildings on the ledges
(A) by means of ladders. (B) from underground chambers.
(C) by means of stone stairways. (D) through doors on the first floor.
7. According to the passage ,kivas were used for all the following purposes EXCEPT
(A) clan meetings. (B) food preparation.
(C) religious ceremonies. (D) tribal councils.
8. According to the passage, the LEAST likely reason that the Anasazi abandoned Mesa Verde was
(A) drought. (B) overpopulation. (C) war. (D) crop failure.
9. Put an X next to the paragraph that presents theories about why the Anasazi left.
Passage 2
Dulcimers are musical instruments that basically consist of wooden boxes with strings stretched over
them. In one form or another, they have been around since ancient times, probably originating with the
Persian santir. Today there are two varieties: the hammered dulcimer and the Appalachian, or mountain
dulcimer. The former is shaped like a trapezoid, has two or more strings, and is played with wooden mallets.
It is the same instrument played in a number of Old World countries. The Appalachian dulcimer is classified
by musicologists as a box zither. It is a descendant of the Pennsylvania Dutch scheitholt and the French
epinette. Appalachian dulcimers are painstakingly fashioned by artisans in the mountains of West Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. These instruments have three or four strings and are plucked with quills
or the fingers. They are shaped like teardrops or hourglasses. Heart-shaped holes in the sounding board are
traditional. Most performers play the instruments while seated with the instruments in their laps, but others
wear them around their necks like guitars or place them on tables in front of them. Originally used to play
dance music, Appalachian dulcimers were popularized by performers such as John Jacob Niles and Jean
Ritchie during the folk music revival of the 1960s.
10. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT an ancestor of the Appalachian dulcimer?
(A) The box zither (B) The santir (C) The scheitholt (D) The epinette
11. According to the passage, how many strings does the Appalachian dulcimer have?
(A) One or two (B) Three or four (C) Four or five (D) Six or more
12. According to the passage, a hammered dulcimer is made in the shape of a(n)
(A) hourglass. (B) heart. (C) trapezoid. (D) teardrop.
13. According to the author, most performers play the Appalachian dulcimer
(A) while sitting down. (B) with the instrument strapped around their neck.
(C) while standing at a table. (D) with wooden hammers.
14. According to the author, what are John Jacob Niles and Jean Ritchie known for?
(A) Playing dance music on Appalachian dulcimers
(B) They are artisans who design Appalachian dulcimers
(C) They helped bring Appalachian dulcimers to the public’s attention
(D) They began the folk music revival of the 1960s
15. Underline the sentence in the passage that tells where Appalachian dulcimers are made.
Passage 3
Humanitarian Dorothea Dix was born in Hampden, Maine, in 1802. At the age of 19, she established
a school for girls, the Dix Mansion School, in Boston, but had to close it in 1835 due to her poor health. She
wrote and published the first of many books for children in 1824. In 1841, Dix accepted an invitation to teach
classes at a prison in East Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was deeply disturbed by the sight of mentally-ill
people thrown in the jail and treated like criminals. For the next eighteen months, she toured Massachusetts
institutions where other mental patients were confined and reported the shocking conditions she found to the
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state legislature. When improvements followed in Massachusetts, she turned her attention to the neighboring
states and then to the West and South.
Dix’s work was interrupted by the Civil War; she served as superintendent of women hospital nurses
for the federal government. Dix saw special hospitals for the mentally ill built in some fifteen states.
Although her plan to obtain public land for her cause failed, she aroused concern for the problem of mental
illness all over the United States as well as in Canada and Europe. Dix’s success was due to her independent
and thorough research, her gentle but persistent manner, and her ability to secure the help of powerful and
wealthy supporters.
16. In what year was the Dix Mansion School closed?
(A) 1821 (B) 1824 (C) 1835 (D) 1841
17. Underline the sentence in the first paragraph that explains why Dorothea Dix first went to a prison.
18. Where was Dorothea Dix first able to bring about reforms in the treatment of the mentally ill?
(A) Canada (B) Massachusetts (C) The West and South (D) Europe
19. Dorothea Dix was NOT successful in her attempt to
(A) become superintendent of nurses. (B) publish books for children.
(C) arouse concern for the mentally ill. (D) obtain public lands.
20. Underline the sentence in paragraph 2 in which the author gives specific reasons why Dix was
successful.
Passage 4
Ambient divers are, unlike divers who go underwater in submersible vehicles or pressure resistant
suits, exposed to the pressure and temperature of the surrounding (ambient) water. Of all types of diving, the
oldest and simplest is free diving. Free divers may use no equipment at all, but most use a face mask, foot
fins, and a snorkel. Under the surface, free divers must hold their breath. Most free divers can only descend
30 to 40 feet, but some skilled divers can go as deep as 100 feet.
Scuba diving provides greater range than free diving. The word scuba stands for self contained
underwater breathing apparatus. Scuba divers wear metal tanks with compressed air or other breathing gases.
When using open-circuit equipment, a scuba diver simply breathes air from the tank through a hose and
releases the exhaled air into the water. A closed-circuit breathing device, also called a rebreather, filters out
carbon dioxide and other harmful gases and automatically adds oxygen. This enables the diver to breathe the
same air over and over.
In surface-supplied diving, divers wear helmets and waterproof canvas suits. Today, sophisticated
plastic helmets have replaced the heavy copper helmets used in the past. These divers get their air from a
hose connected to compressors on a boat. Surface-supplied divers
can go deeper than any other type of ambient diver.
21. Ambient divers are ones who
(A) can descend to extreme depths. (B) use submersible vehicles.
(C) use no equipment. (D) are exposed to the surrounding water.
22. According to the passage, a free diver may use any of the following EXCEPT
(A) a rebreather. (B) a snorkel. (C) foot fins. (D) a mask.
23. According to the passage, the maximum depth for free divers is around
(A) 40 feet. (B) 100 feet. (C) 200 feet. (D) 1,000 feet.
24. When using closed-circuit devices, divers
(A) exhale air into the water. (B) hold their breath.
(C) breathe the same air over and over. (D) receive air from the surface.
25. According to the passage, surface-supplied divers today use helmets made from
(A) glass. (B) copper. (C) plastic. (D) canvas.
26. Underline the sentence in paragraph 3 that explains how surface-supplied divers are able to breath.
EXERCISE 3
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct
answer to each of the questions.
The ruined temples of Angkor

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The ruined temples of Angkor are perhaps one of the most impressive Seven Wonders of the World.
Located in modern day Cambodia near Lake Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Asia, Angkor was the
seat of power for the Khmer Empire from the ninth to the most impressive ones in the world, rivaling the
pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Why this mighty civilization died out is a question that archeologists are now
only beginning to ponder. The answer, it turns out, may be linked with the availability of fresh water.
One possible explanation for the downfall of the Khmer Empire has to do with the inhabitants’
irrigation system. The temple and palaces of Angkor were constructed around a series of artificial reservoirs
and canals which were annually flooded to capacity by the Mekong River. Once filled, they were used to
irrigate the surrounding rice patties and farmland during the course of the year. Farmers were completely
dependent upon the water for their crucial rice crop. Without consistent irrigation, the farmers would have
been unable to maintain functional crop production.
Scientists speculate that toward the end of the Khmer Empire the hydraulic systems of the reservoirs
and canals broke down. The construction of hundreds of sandstone temples and palaces required an
enormous amount of physical labor. In addition, as the capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor contained
upwards of one hundred thousand people who resided in and around Angkor. In order to feed so many
people, the local farmers were driven to grow food quicker and more efficiently. After centuries of continual
use, the irrigation system was pushed beyond its capacity. Soil erosion, nutrient depletion, and the loss of
water led to decrease in the food supply. With less food available, the people of Angkor slowly began to
migrate to other parts of Cambodia thus leaving the marvelous city of Angkor to be swallowed by the jungle.
Therefore, it is speculated that the Khmer Empire may have fallen victim to its own decrepit infrastructures.
1. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Modern day agricultural procedures in Cambodia.
B. A possible explanation for the, decline of a civilization.
C. The essential role water plays in farming.
D. Religious temples of the ancient Khmer Empire.
2. The passage preceding the passage most likely discusses ………….
A. architecture of ancient Asian civilization B. religious practices of the people of Angkor
C. the form of government practiced by the Khmer Empire
D. the other six wonders of the world
3. According to the passage, Lake Tonle Sap in Cambodia ………….
A. is an enormous fresh body of water in Asia
B was unable to supply enough fish for the people of Angkor
C. became polluted due to a population explosion
D. is one of the Seven Wonders of the World
4. Why does the author mention the hydraulic systems of the reservoirs?
A. They supplied irrigation from the Indian Ocean. B. They became non-functional due to overuse.
C. They were destroyed by nearby warrior tribes.
D. They helped transport the sandstones for constructing temples.
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the inhabitants of the Khmer Empire ………….
A. were intentionally starved by the farmers B. lost their food source due to excess rainfall
C. supplemented their diets with 'meat hunted in the nearby jungles
D. depended upon rice as their main source of food
6. All the following are mentioned as events that can affect food supply EXCEPT ……..
A. erosion of soil B. contamination of soil C. reduction of nutrients D. loss of water supply
7. The word “seat” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ……..
A. battle B. summit C. location D. chief
8. The word “artificial” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ………
A. man-made B. numerous C. natural D. insincere
9. The word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to ………
A. reservoirs and canals B. temples and palaces C. rice paddles D. farmland
10. The word “decrepit” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ………
A. incomplete B. deteriorated C. beneficial D. disorganized
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