What this section covers: Main idea, Supporting details, Inferences, Author's purpose, Vocabulary in context, Fact vs opinion, Summarizing.
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Read the passage: Why Hand Hygiene Still Matters
Washing hands seems almost too simple to discuss. Children learn it before they can read, and signs above sinks remind everyone to do it. Even so, hand hygiene remains one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of infection in hospitals, clinics, and homes.
Germs travel on hands far more easily than most people realize. A nurse who adjusts a patient's pillow, touches a bed rail, and then checks another patient's intravenous line may carry microorganisms from one surface to the next without seeing anything on her skin. Because many harmful organisms are invisible, clean-looking hands are not necessarily clean.
Two methods are widely used. Washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds removes dirt and many germs, and it is the better choice when hands are visibly soiled. Alcohol-based hand rub is faster and gentler on skin, which makes it convenient between patient contacts. However, it does not work well on hands covered in dirt or grease, and it is less effective against certain organisms, such as the spores of Clostridioides difficile.
Some health care workers skip hand hygiene when they are rushed, and others worry that frequent washing will crack their skin. Hospitals have responded by placing dispensers near every bed, supplying moisturizing lotions, and observing staff to give feedback. In my view, these measures are worth every penny, because an infection prevented is suffering avoided and money saved.
The habit is simple, but its effect is not. Each time hands are cleaned at the right moment, a possible chain of infection is broken.
Question 1What is the author's primary purpose in this passage?
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Answer: D — To explain why hand hygiene remains important and how it is carried out in health care.
Every paragraph supports the importance of hand hygiene and describes its methods and obstacles. The author does not argue that hand rub should replace washing; the passage names situations where soap and water is better.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Author's purpose
Same passage as above.
Question 2According to the passage, when is washing with soap and water the better choice?
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Answer: B — When hands are visibly soiled.
Paragraph 3 states that soap and water 'is the better choice when hands are visibly soiled.' Hand rub is described as the convenient option between patient contacts.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Supporting details
Same passage as above.
Question 3Which sentence from the passage expresses an opinion rather than a fact?
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Answer: C — In my view, these measures are worth every penny, because an infection prevented is suffering avoided and money saved..
'In my view' and the judgment 'worth every penny' signal a personal opinion. The other sentences describe things that can be observed or checked.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Fact vs opinion
Same passage as above.
Question 4As used in paragraph 3, the word 'soiled' most nearly means
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Answer: A — dirty.
The paragraph pairs 'visibly soiled' with 'covered in dirt or grease,' so soiled means dirty.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Vocabulary in context
Same passage as above.
Question 5The example of the nurse who touches a pillow, a bed rail, and an IV line is included mainly to show that
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Answer: C — germs can be carried between surfaces and patients without being seen.
The example ends with germs moving 'without seeing anything on her skin,' supporting the point that clean-looking hands are not necessarily clean. It does not blame nurses or rank surfaces.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Inferences
Read the passage: The Stethoscope's Unlikely Beginning
Before the nineteenth century, a physician who wanted to hear a patient's heart usually pressed an ear directly against the patient's chest. The method, called immediate auscultation, was awkward for everyone involved. It was uncomfortable in a crowded hospital ward, and with some patients it was considered improper.
In 1816, a French physician named René Laennec faced this problem while examining a young woman with symptoms of heart disease. According to his own account, he remembered watching children send sounds to one another through a long piece of wood, one child scratching at one end while another listened at the opposite end. Laennec rolled several sheets of paper into a tight tube, placed one end on the patient's chest and the other at his ear, and was surprised to hear the heartbeat more clearly than ever before.
Laennec went on to build wooden versions of his tube and spent years listening to the chests of patients, comparing what he heard with what was later found at autopsy. He named his device the stethoscope, from Greek words meaning 'chest' and 'to examine.' His careful records helped physicians connect particular sounds with particular diseases of the heart and lungs.
The instrument changed over time. Flexible tubing and two earpieces were added decades later, making the stethoscope easier to use and allowing the listener to hear with both ears. Today, some models even amplify sound electronically.
What makes the story memorable is not the paper tube itself but the habit of mind behind it. Laennec noticed an everyday event, connected it to a medical problem, and then tested his idea patiently and systematically.
Question 6Which choice is the best summary of the passage?
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Answer: A — After an everyday observation, Laennec created the stethoscope in 1816, used careful study to link chest sounds to diseases, and the device was improved later..
A good summary covers the whole passage: the problem, Laennec's invention, his systematic study, and later changes. The children only inspired the idea, and the passage never ranks immediate auscultation or says electronic models replaced all others.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Summarizing
Same passage as above.
Question 7As used in paragraph 1, 'awkward' most nearly means
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Answer: D — uncomfortable or clumsy.
The next sentence explains the method was 'uncomfortable' and sometimes 'improper,' so awkward means uncomfortable or clumsy.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Vocabulary in context
Same passage as above.
Question 8What did Laennec use to make his first listening tube?
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Answer: B — Rolled sheets of paper.
Paragraph 2 says he 'rolled several sheets of paper into a tight tube.' Wooden versions came afterward, and flexible tubing was added decades later.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Supporting details
Same passage as above.
Question 9Why did Laennec most likely compare what he heard with findings at autopsy?
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Answer: B — To confirm which sounds matched which diseases.
The passage says his records 'helped physicians connect particular sounds with particular diseases,' which is what comparing sounds with autopsy findings allows.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Inferences
Same passage as above.
Question 10The last paragraph mainly emphasizes
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Answer: D — the way of thinking that led to the invention.
The paragraph says the story is memorable 'not [for] the paper tube itself but the habit of mind behind it': noticing, connecting and testing.
Checked against: Elsevier HESI Admission Assessment overview — Reading Comprehension: Main idea
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