TABE Test Study Guide
Read
the following passage and then answer questions 1-6.
The splintered steps leading to the
tenement’s entrance were rotted and
uneven. They led to an unlocked door which wobbled on its hinges and shrank
from its frame. It creaked open to a dank, dark hall which smelled of urine and
sweat. The paint was peeling off cracked walls. The faint yellow light hung low
in the night.
Mr. and Mrs. Gomes lived on the second
floor with their three young children. Their four-room apartment was immaculate
and tidy. The kitchen floor glistened, and the flowered plates and glasses were
neatly stacked in the drainer.
In the living room, the sheer curtains
were always drawn back, filtering sunlight throughout the room, passing over a
color television and several porcelain icons. Besides the freestanding gas
heater was a brand name stereo system recently purchased on an “easy pay”
credit plan.
The soft pine floors were all warped
but recently painted. The wide floorboards, once loose in many places, were now
nailed down securely. Clear plastic sheets were tacked over the windows to
prevent heat loss.
The children, two girls and a boy,
shared a large room with one small window that was separated from the kitchen
by a curtain. The gas stove “warmed” them at night. Their toys were piled high
in wooden crates. The children did not dare turn on the kitchen light for fear
that the six-legged, brown-bodied pests would dart out in front of them.
The Gomes family had rented this
apartment for ten years, ever since they came to this country. They had known
no other home, although they had dreamed of many. Some day they hoped to live
in a quiet neighborhood with open yards and spotless sidewalks, where people
get into cars each weekday morning and commute to work.
1.
You can infer that the story takes place in the
a.
summer
b.
spring
c.
fall
d.
winter
e.
none of the above
2.
In the third paragraph the word icons means
a.
fine china plates
b.
ornate lamps
c.
religious figures
d.
ashtrays
e.
none of the above
3.
You can conclude that the Gomes family members are
a.
native Americans
b.
c.
Chinese
d.
immigrants
e.
second generation Americans
4.
What would be the opposite meaning of the word immaculate in the second
paragraph?
a.
filthy
b.
girlish
c.
clean
d.
horrible
e.
modern
5.
What can you infer about the children’s bedroom?
a.
It is well furnished.
b.
It is crowded.
c.
It has its own bathroom.
d.
It is well lighted.
e.
It is pest-free.
6.
The pests mentioned at the end of the passage are probably
a.
ants
b.
mice
c.
rats
d.
moths
e.
cockroaches
Read
the following passage and choose the best answer for items 7 – 12.
What was Grandpa Tweedy
Like?
Then there was Grandpa Tweedy, my
daddy’s daddy out in
When Papa left the farm at sixteen to
go work for Grandpa Blakeslee, he made twenty dollars a month and had to send
half of it home to pay the field hand who took his place. That was the custom.
But even after Papa married at nineteen, making forty dollars a month, he still
had to send Grandpa Tweedy ten of it, till the day he was twenty-one. My mother
never said she didn’t like her father-in-law, but I could tell she didn’t, and
that may have been why.
What started me hating him, he
wouldn’t let me fish on Sunday. Said it was a sin. I remember I put out some
set hooks late one Saturday, thinking if I caught a fish, it wouldn’t be a sin
to take him off the hook next morning. End his suffering, you know. Early
Sunday I ran down to the river and one of the lines was just a jiggling! But
when I ran up the hill and asked Grandpa’s permission to get my fish off the
hook he said, “Hit’ll still be thar t’morrer, Lord willin’. The Lord ain’t
willin’, it’ll be gone. Now git in the house and study your catechism till time
to leave for preachin’.”
Of course the fish was gone Monday
morning. But I got back at Grandpa Tweedy. I’d noticed a big hornet’s nest in
the privy, just under the tin roof, so I bided my time behind a tree till I saw
him go in there. Giving him just long enough to get settled good, I let fly
with a rock and hit that tin roof like a gunshot…
7. The statement “All he ever did was sit on the porch and swat flies” is a restatement of
a. “he toiled not”
b. “he talked of hard times”
c. “called himself a farmer”
d. “neither did he spend his
own money”
e. “even had him a pet hen to
peck them up”
8. Which of the following actions would you expect Grandpa Tweedy to take?
a. He would be the first man to
fix anything that needed fixing.
b. He would tend his lilies
night and day just like in the Bible.
c. He would talk for hours on
end about his incredible good fortune.
d. He would be glad to lend a
helping hand to his children.
e. He would let a fence fall
down before he would repair it.
9.
Which statement reflects the most likely reason that Papa sent money
home to Grandpa Tweedy?
a. Papa was paying back his
father for money loaned to him for school.
b. Children have a moral
obligation to support parents who cannot support themselves.
c. Papa felt guilty for having
left the farm.
d. Papa felt guilty for not
having brought his wife back to the farm to live.
e. Grandpa Tweedy did not like
to spend his own money, so he asked Papa to help out.
10.
What happened when the speaker told Grandpa Tweedy about the fish?
a. Grandpa said it was a gift
from God.
b. Grandpa refused permission
to take the fish off the hook.
c.