What this section covers: Obtaining information from written passages.
10 free practice questions
Click an answer: you see at once whether it is right, with the explanation.
Read the passage: Motor pool memo
Beginning Monday, every vehicle returned to the motor pool must have at least half a tank of fuel. Drivers who return a vehicle below that level will be asked to refuel it before they sign out another vehicle. The change is meant to ensure that a vehicle is always ready for an urgent trip. Fuel cards are available at the dispatch desk.
Question 1The main purpose of the memo is to
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Answer: C — announce a new rule for returning vehicles.
The memo introduces a fuel requirement that starts Monday. Fuel cards and urgent trips are mentioned only to support that rule.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Same passage as above.
Question 2A driver who returns a vehicle with one-quarter of a tank of fuel will
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Answer: D — be asked to refuel it before signing out another vehicle.
One-quarter is below the half-tank minimum, and the memo says such drivers will be asked to refuel before signing out another vehicle. No fine or loss of privileges is mentioned.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Read the passage: A warm hive in winter
A honeybee colony keeps its hive warm in winter by clustering: the bees gather into a tight ball and shiver their flight muscles to produce heat. Bees on the outside of the cluster slowly trade places with bees on the inside, so no single bee stays on the cold edge for long. The colony burns stored honey as fuel, which is why a hive that enters winter with too little honey may not survive until spring.
Question 3According to the passage, honeybees produce heat in winter by
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Answer: C — shivering their flight muscles.
The first sentence says the bees gather into a ball and shiver their flight muscles to produce heat.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Same passage as above.
Question 4Which conclusion is best supported by the passage?
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Answer: D — A colony needs enough stored honey before winter begins..
The passage says the colony burns stored honey as fuel and may not survive with too little. It says outer bees trade places with inner bees, so the claim that outer bees stay there all winter contradicts it.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Read the passage: The review
The committee's report on the new barracks was scathing. It described the project as two years late, far over budget and so poorly managed that no one could say who had approved the final design.
Question 5In the passage, the word scathing most nearly means
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Answer: B — harshly critical.
The report called the project late, over budget and poorly managed, with nothing positive to say. That is harsh criticism, not a balanced view.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Read the passage: Measure twice
Carpenters often repeat the saying “measure twice, cut once.” A second measurement takes a few seconds, while a board cut too short cannot be made longer and usually has to be replaced. The saying is really about the cost of mistakes: when an error is cheap to fix, working quickly makes sense, but when an error is expensive or permanent, checking first is time well spent.
Question 6Which statement best expresses the main idea of the passage?
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Answer: D — Checking your work is worth the time when mistakes are costly to fix..
The last sentence explains the real point of the saying: check first when an error would be expensive or permanent. The passage says working quickly makes sense when errors are cheap, so always working slowly is wrong.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Same passage as above.
Question 7Which situation best fits the advice in the passage?
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Answer: B — Reviewing a legal document before signing it, since it cannot be changed afterward.
The advice to check first applies when a mistake is expensive or permanent. A signed legal document cannot be undone, while the other activities are cheap and easy to redo.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Read the passage: Changing a tire
When changing a flat tire, loosen the lug nuts slightly while the wheel is still resting on the ground, and only then raise the vehicle with the jack. If you try to loosen the nuts after the wheel is off the ground, the wheel will simply turn as you push on the wrench.
Question 8According to the passage, the lug nuts should first be loosened
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Answer: A — before the vehicle is raised.
The passage says to loosen them while the wheel is still on the ground and only then raise the vehicle, because a raised wheel would just turn.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Read the passage: Letters by hand
Some people say that writing letters by hand is a waste of time in an age of instant messages. Yet a handwritten letter says something a text cannot: that the sender set aside time, chose each word with care and paid for a stamp. For a thank-you note or a message of sympathy, that effort is the whole point.
Question 9The author's attitude toward handwritten letters is best described as
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Answer: B — approving.
The author answers the critics and argues that handwritten letters show care and effort. That is a favorable, approving view.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
Same passage as above.
Question 10The author suggests that handwritten letters are especially suitable for
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Answer: D — thank-you notes and messages of sympathy.
The last sentence names a thank-you note or a message of sympathy as the cases where the effort is the whole point.
Checked against: officialasvab.com, What to Expect: ASVAB Subtests table, Paragraph Comprehension (obtain information from written passages)
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