QUIZ BEE QUESTIONS:

(Vocabulary)
1.The technical department enthusiastically hired Ms. Long because she was proficient in
the use of computers.
a. sincere b. adequate c. competent d. skilled

Answer: d. When one is proficient at something, one is

an expert or is skilled at it.

(Analogy)
2. SOUND : CACOPHONY
a. taste : style
b. touch : massage
c. smell : stench
d. sight : panorama
e. speech : oration

Answer: c. A cacophony is an unpleasant sound; a stench is an unpleasant smell.

3. Main Idea

Human technology developed from the first stone

tools about two and a half million years ago. In
the beginning, the rate of development was slow.
Hundreds of thousands of years passed without
much change. Today, new technologies are
reported daily on television and in newspapers.

This paragraph best supports the statement that

a. stone tools were not really technology.
b. stone tools were in use for two and a half
million years.
c. there is no way to know when stone tools
first came into use.
d. In today’s world, new technologies are constantly being developed.
e. none of the latest technologies are as significant as the development of stone tools

Answer: d.The last sentence states that new technologies are reported daily, and this implies
that new technologies are being constantly developed. There is no support for choice a. With
regard to choice b, stone tools were first used two and a half million years ago, but they were
not necessarily in use all that time. Choice c is clearly wrong because the paragraph states
when stone tools first came into use. Although some may agree that choice e is true, the
author of the paragraph does not give support for this opinion.

Short Passages

4. Everyone is sensitive to extreme weather conditions. But with age, the body may become
less able to respond to long exposure to very hot or very cold temperatures. Some older
people might develop hypothermia when exposed to cold weather. Hypothermia is a drop in
internal body temperature, which can be fatal if not detected and treated.
The paragraph best supports the statement that
a. cold weather is more dangerous for older
people than warm weather.
b. hypothermia is a condition that only affects
older people.
c. older people who live in warm climates
are healthier than older people who live in
cold climates.
d. an older person is more susceptible to
hypothermia than a younger person.

Answer: d.The paragraph specifically states that age makes a person less able to respond to
long exposure to very hot or very cold temperatures. This would mean that older people are
more susceptible to hypothermia. Choices a, b, and c are not supported by the information
given in the paragraph

5. Before you begin to compose a business letter, sit down and think about your purpose in
writing the letter. Do you want to request information, order a product, register a complaint,
or apply for something? Do some brainstorming and gather information before you begin
writing. Always keep your objective in mind.

The main idea of the passage is that

a. planning is an important part of writing a
business letter.
b. business letters are frequently complaint
letters.
c. brainstorming and writing take approximately equal amounts of time.
d. many people fail to plan ahead when they
are writing a business letter

Answer: a.The entire passage relates to this idea. The other ideas are not reflected in the
passage.

Vocabulary
6. The intermittent rain soaked the garden many
different times during the day.

a. protracted
b. periodic
c. incredulous
d. light
Answer: b. When something is intermittent, it is periodic or starts and stops at intervals.

7.